r 


UNiyERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA.  SAN  DIEGO 


llllllllllllllllllllllll 

3  1822  02399  4320 


Social  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due 
nnn   A  o  9nn^ 

•  •  •  >  •    1     n     o  n  n  ^ 

JUN  1  0  mj 

CI  39  (5/97)                                                                             UCSD  Lib. 

k 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

MARK  HAMBOURG 


HOW    TO 
PLAY     THE     PIANO 


BY 

MARK  HAMBOURG 


WITH    PRACTICAL  -  ILLUSTRATIONS    AND 

DIAGRAMS  AND  AN  ABRIDGED  COMPEN- 

DIUM  OF  FIVE-FINGER  EXERCISES,  SCALES, 

THIRDS,    ARPEGGI,    OCTAVES    AS 

PRACTISED  BY  HIM 


THEODORE  PRESSER  CO. 

I7I1   CHESTNUT  STREET 
♦  PHILADELPHLA* 


COPYRIGHT,  1922. 
BY  THEO.    PRESSEE   00. 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


DEDICATED   TO   MY    FRIEKD 

D.  MUIR 


FOREWORD 

Mark  Hambourg  was  born  in  Bogutchar  in  the  province  of 
Voronesh,  South  Russia,  on  May  30th,  1879,  and  showed  promise 
of  great  musical  talent  at  such  an  early  age  that  his  father,  himself 
a  professor  of  advanced  piano-playing,  personally  took  his  musical 
education  in  hand,  and  brought  him  out  at  Moscow  as  a  juvenile 
prodig}'  in  1889,  afterwards  taking  him  to  tour  in  England.  In 
1891  he  left  London,  whither  his  family  had  migrated,  and  went  to 
study  under  Leschctitzky  in  V^ienna,  where  he  remained  three 
years.  After  winning  the  Liszt  Scholarship  during  that  period, 
he  made  his  debut  as  a  full-grown  pianist  in  1894  at  a  Philharmonic 
Concert  in  Vienna  under  the  conductorship  of  Dr.  Richter,  and 
a  year  later  made  his  bow  to  the  London  public  at  a  concert  of 
the  Philharmonic  Society,  following  this  up  by  giving  four  recitals 
of  his  own  as  well  as  fulfilling  a  number  of  important  engagements 
in  the  principal  cities  of  Europe. 

In  1895  came  IMark  Hambourg's  first  Australian  tour,  which 
was  a  sensational  success.  During  the  following  year  he  played 
at  many  important  concerts  in  England  before  leaving  for  a  second 
tour  in  Australia  in  1897.  For  two  years  after  the  conclusion 
of  this  tour  Mark  Hambourg  devoted  himself  more  particularly 
to  general  study,  his  public  activity  being  confined  to  a  few  concerts 
in  England,  Germany  and  Switzerland.  This  period  of  study 
paved  the  way  for  further  achievements  during  the  first  American 
tour  upon  which  he  embarked  in  the  autumn  of  1899.  A  period  of 
great  activity  followed  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  the 
pianist's  engagements  including  a  series  of  recitals  at  the  Queen's 
Hall,  appearances  at  the  Cardiff  Festival  in  1902,  and  at  Lamoureux 
and  Colonne  Concerts  in  Paris. 

A  second  American  tour  of  80  concerts,  followed  by  a  third 
visit  to  Australia  and  a  tour  in  South  Africa,  which  latter  was 
undertaken  primarily  for  change  and  rest,  but  which  proved  also 
to  be  a  most  successful  venture,  fully  occupied  Mark  Hambourg's 
time  until  1906,  esiK-cially  as  he  had  to  fulfil  many  engagements 
in  ICngland  as  well.  His  recital  at  the  Queen's  Hall  on  June  i8th 
of  the  same  year  marked  his  one  thousandth  appearance  in  public. 
In  1907  he  made  his  second  tour  in  South  Africa,  which  occupied 
the  whole  of  that  spring  and  sununer.     In  October  of  the  same 

vii 


▼iii  FOREWORD 

year  followed  a  third  American  tour,  while  in  July,  1908,  after 
a  great  farewell  concert  at  the  Albert  Hall,  which  was  attended 
by  over  6000  people,  came  a  fourth  visit  to  Australia  extending 
over  six  months. 

He  has  been  twice  touring  all  over  Canada  and  then  again 
throughout  Europe.  In  191 4  he  was  in  the  United  States  for  the 
fourth  time.  Mark  Hambourg's  activities  are  ever  on  the  increase, 
and  during  the  year  1920  he  played  over  120  recitals  in  Great 
Britain  alone,  while  since  he  has  been  continuously  playing  in 
Paris,  on  the  Continent  generally,  and  all  over  the  world. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE:     HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

rAGB 
CHAPTER 

I      PROLOGUE  :  PREPARING  FOR  THE  PIANISX'S  CAREER      ...  13 

II      HOW   TO   PRACTISE *" 

III      ON    TECHNIQUE    GENERALLY ^7 

IV      CAN   YOU   PLAY  A   SCALE? 3° 

V      ELEMENTARY   PRINCIPLES   FOR   STUDY    .....••  35 

VI      SOME  FURTHER  HINTS  HOW  TO    MASTER  THE  KEYBOARD         .  42 

VII      ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:   THIRDS,   SIXTHS,  OCTAVES      ...  47 

VIII      ON   FINGERING  AND   MEMORY OI 

IX      SOME  COMMON   MISTAKES  AND  ADVICE  HOW  TO  AVOID  THEM  70 

X      HOW    TO    PLAY    WITH    EXPRESSION    AND    HOW    TO    USE    THE 

PEDAL 70 


XII      A     SPECIMEN     LESSON  :     THE    '  MOONLIGHT    SONATA       FIRST 

MOVEMENT    ( BEETHOVEN) 9^ 

XIII       PLAYING    IN    PUBLIC 9° 

XIV      EPILOGUE  :   THE  PIANO  AS  A   HOUSEHOLD  FRIEND,  AND   HOW 

TO  CHOOSE  AND  CARE  FOR  ONE 103 

PART    TWO:     ABRIDGED   COMPENDIUM    OF   EXER- 
CISES, ETC..  FOR  THE  USE  OF  STUDENTS 

XV       FIVE-FINGER  EXERCISES,    SCALES  AND  ARPEGGIO  EXERCISES      .        IO9 
XVI       SCALES   IN    THIRDS   AND   OCTAVE   EXERCISES II8 

The  fingering  used  in  this  book  is  the  Continental  fingering. 


PART  ONE 
HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

Chapter  I 

PROLOGUE:  PREPARING  FOR  THE  PIANIST'S  CAREER 

Let  us  consider  a  little  what  possibilities  and  difficulties  await 
the  youth  who  desires  nowadays  to  take  up  the  piano  professionally, 
and  carve  out  a  career  for  himself  with  its  aid.  It  is,  first  of  all, 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  present-day  public  demands 
greater  attainment  than  ever  before  from  executant  artists.  At 
least  the  case  is  rather  that  the  existing  conditions  under  which 
we  live  tend  to  make  all  endeavour  very  strenuous,  therefore  it 
grows  increasingly  hard  to  arrive  at  distinction  in  any  walk  of  life. 

COMPETITION    IN   THE   MUSICAL  WORLD 

To  begin  with,  competition  is  very  great,  and  in  the  musical 
world  there  are  many  more  artists,  and  many  more  concerts  than 
formerly;  also  though  the  best  talent  is  still  most  rare  and  precious, 
yet  the  general  level  of  achievement  is  no  doubt  a  good  deal  higher 
than  it  used  to  be.  The  young  student  therefore  must  seriously 
consider  the  outlook  in  front  of  him  before  he  decides  to  take 
up  the  arduous  career  of  a  pianist,  and  I  need  scarcely  mention 
that  his  first  business  should  be  to  try  and  ascertain  whether  he 
has  a  decided  disposition  for  the  instrument.  Unless  he  possesses 
this,  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  a  waste  of  time  for  him  to  commence 
the  study  of  it  at  all. 

Of  course  it  is  hard  for  the  young,  or  even  for  friends  around 
them  to  determine  the  exact  measure  of  their  capacity  at  the  outset, 
for  real  talent  is  in  itself  a  fusic^n  of  so  many  different  qualities. 
The  gift  or  inborn  disposition  for  music  does  not  necessarily 
develop  into  true  talent  in  the  sense  in  which  T  understand  it, 
namely,  as  a  certain  power  containing  within  it  elements  which 
are  able  to  bring  forth  great  superiority  of  atlninment  in  whatsoever 
branch  of  the  human  intcIHgcnce  they  actuate.      It  is  strange  that 

13 


14  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

the  faculty  of  easy  musical  expression  alone  is  not  enoug^h  to  ensure 
success,  though  people  have  often  been  dehuled  into  thinking  so, 
and  thereby  much  bitter  disappointment  and  misery  have  been 
caused  to  unrecognized  aspirants  after  fame. 

How  many  there  are  who  give  the  impression  of  being 
astonishingly  endowed  with  the  musical  instinct,  and  even  possess 
what  is  known  as  perfect  pitch,  which  appears  to  be  an  unerring 
discrimination  of  the  ear  between  the  various  sounds  of  the  scale. 
Such  people  certainly  seem  to  have  a  wonderful  natural  facility  in 
all  things  appertaining  to  music,  yet  they  often  do  not  arrive  at 
any  particular  eminence  in  the  profession.  One  is  told  that  it  is 
such  a  pity  "So  and  So"  has  such  a  genius  for  music,  but  is  so 
lazy  he  will  not  work,  or  so  nervous  he  cannot  do  himself  justice, 
or  that  some  other  drawback  hinders  him !  But  the  fact  probably 
is,  in  cases  like  these,  that  the  musical  propensity  is  there  no  doubt, 
sometimes  even  in  a  high  measure,  but  the  necessary  talent  or 
power  is  not  present  with  it,  to  enable  it  to  attain  a  successful 
development. 

What,  then,  should  the  student  seek  for  in  himself  when  he 
feels  that  he  has  the  gift  of  music  and  wonders  whether  he  possesses 
sufficient  talent  accompanying  it  to  succeed  professionally?  Well, 
he  must  consider,  amongst  other  things,  if  he  is  capable  of  many 
years  of  hard  unremitting  work  at  the  development  of  the  technical 
side  of  his  art.  He  must  also  find  in  himself  physical  endurance, 
courage,  coolness  in  emergency,  command  of  nerves,  determination, 
inexhaustible  patience,  self-confidence,  and,  above  all,  such  a  love 
of  his  art  for  its  own  sake  as  will  carry  him  over  every 
disappointment. 

THE   BEST   TEACHER 

But  allowing  that  he  has  the  signs  within  him  of  all  these 
needful  qualities,  or  at  least  he  thinks  he  has,  and  he  decides  to 
take  up  the  study  of  the  piano  seriously,  he  has  then  to  make  up 
his  mind  about  his  first  practical  necessity,  and  this  is  undoubtedly 
to  go  and  learn  with  the  very  best  teacher  he  can  procure.  There 
is  nothing  that  helps  so  much  as  to  be  really  well  taught  from  the 
very  beginning.  So  many  artists  have  had  to  go  through  irksome 
and  irritating  labour  in  later  life,  and  lost  much  valuable  time 
in  having  to  undo  the  effects  of  bad  tuition  in  student  days.  It 
is  therefore  an  enormous  benefit  to  the  beginner  if  whoever  is 
responsible  for  his  education  insists  on  his  being  sent  from  the 
outset  to  a  really  good  and  experienced  professor.  At  this  early 
stage,  also,  I  estimate  it  as  most  important  that  the  student,  though 


PROLOGUE:  PREPARING  FOR  THE  PIANIST'S  CAREER     15 

he  should  work  regularly  and  conscientiously,  should  not  study  for 
too  long  at  a  time. 

Personally  I  have  always  found  that  two  hours  at  a  stretch  of 
careful  practice  is  quite  enough  at  one  sitting,  and  it  is  far  better 
to  do  several  periods  of  work  in  the  day  of  shorter  duration  than 
to  be  at  it  for  many  hours  together.  The  mind  and  ear  only 
become  confused  after  a  protracted  time  of  work  by  the  constant 
blur  of  sound  and  then  the  practising  degenerates  into  merely 
senseless  repetitions  without  discrimination.  Besides  w^hich  the 
fatigue  and  strain  put  upon  the  nerves  by  such  protracted  study 
are  very  injurious  to  the  young  student's  health,  and  tend  to  impair 
his  constitution  before  any  of  the  wear  and  tear  of  his  profession 
begin. 

TAKE  CARE  OF  THE  STUDENT's  HEALTH 

Here  let  me  say,  that  it  is  most  important  to  remember  to  look 
after  the  physical  health  of  the  youthful  pianist,  and  to  build  up 
his  strength  by  constant  exercise  and  fresh  air,  for  later  on  if  he  is 
to  be  successful,  he  will  have  to  be  fit  to  endure  every  sort  of 
strain,  such  as  long  hours  in  the  train,  much  nervous  excitement, 
great  bodily  fatigue.  I  am  perfectly  certain  that  good  health  and 
strength  are  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  modern  professional 
pianist,  and  the  sort  of  notion  that  an  artist  consists  generally 
of  a  pale  and  sickly  creature  with  delicate  lungs  and  over-strung 
nerves  is  a  conception  of  fiction!  High  strung,  his  profession  will 
make  him,  and  sensitive,  but  he  must  have  his  nerves  well  under 
control  and  healthy,  otherwise  he  will  never  survive  the  tension  of 
public  life. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  unaccountable  failures  of  some  people 
with  really  great  talents,  who  deserved  recognition,  have  been  due  to 
their  neglect  of  health  and  their  consequent  inability  through  sheer 
physical  weakness  to  face  the  tests  put  upon  them.  Just  think  what 
a  long  concert  tour  means  to  the  artist  in  the  way  of  endurance! 
Night  after  night  appearing  in  big  important  engagements,  with  all 
the  responsibility  they  entail ;  day  after  day  long  journeys  by  train 
or  steamer,  often  many  nights  travelling  too;  yet,  in  spite  of  all 
that,  on  arrival  he  must  always  i)e  ready  to  play  with  energy,  spirit 
and  unflagging  interest,  otherwise  he  will  not  inspire  or  convince 
his  audience.  The  faculty  of  interesting  and  carrying  away  his 
hearers  by  the  power  of  his  imagination  working  upon  them  through 
the  music,  is  another  cjuality  most  needful  to  the  artist.  H  he  is 
to  succeed  he  must  acquire  it.  or  rather  develop  it.  and  it  can  only 
come   through  his  learning   to   sink   himself    in   whatsoever   he    is 


16  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

playing  to  such  a  dogrce  that  his  whole  soul  and  mind  become  one 
with  the  music  he  is  interpreting,  and  thus  it  speaks  forth  with 
mesmeric  conviction  to  the  listeners  around  him. 

I  suppose  one  could  fill  volumes  if  one  wished  to  descant  upon 
all  the  points  which  go  to  the  making  of  a  fine  pianist.  But  this 
is  only  meant  to  be  a  general  introduction  to  my  remarks  on  the 
study  of  the  piano,  which  I  have  been  asked  to  write  for  students 
and  others  who  may  be  interested  in  the  subject.  I  can  therefore 
only  touch  here,  as  they  occur  to  me,  upon  a  few  of  the  most 
salient  essentials  for  those  who  intend  to  go  in  for  the  profession. 

DEVELOPING    THE    MUSICAL    MEMORY 

Having  spoken  of  good  tuition,  hard  work  and  health,  I  come 
to  another  vital  consideration,  namely,  the  development  of  a  reliable 
memory.  It  has  become  the  fashion  for  all  instrumental  soloists 
to  perform  in  public  by  heart;  it  is  a  habit  that  has  only  grown 
up  in  the  last  thirty  years,  and  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  always 
a  good  one.  For  the  mere  presence  of  the  music  upon  the  piano 
will  often  give  greater  confidence  to  the  nervous  performer,  and 
ensure  his  giving  a  good  account  of  his  work,  while  the  absence 
of  it-may  so  obsess  his  mind  with  the  fear  of  forgetting  that  he 
will  be  unable  to  let  himself  go  in  the  interpretation  which  he 
had  prepared.  However,  the  public  generally,  more  or  less,  expects 
that  the  pianist  should  play  from  memory,  and  probably,  if  he 
has  no  fear  of  its  failing  him,  he  does  under  these  circumstances 
give  a  freer  and  consequently  more  inspired  rendering  of  his  music. 
At  any  rate,  it  is  an  urgent  point  to  cultivate  a  good  memory. 

With  many  musicians  this  memory  is  a  gift  of  itself,  and  needs 
only  constant  and  ordered  use  to  make  it  perfectly  reliable.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  are  frequent  instances  of  very  great  artists 
whose  memory  will  play  them  tricks,  and  from  one  cause  or  another 
even  the  best  of  them  have  been  known  to  fail  at  times,  often 
merely  from  over-fatigue,  ill-health,  or  some  preoccupation.  One 
of  the  most  extraordinary  examples  of  this  happened  to  a  very 
famous  pianist  at  a  concert.  He  was  playing  the  Concerto  of 
Beethoven  in  C  minor  and  had  arrived  at  the  second  subject  of 
the  beautiful  slow  movement  which  starts  with  a  very  similar 
progression  to  the  beginning  of  the  second  subject  in  the  Adagio 
of  Mendelssohn's  Concerto  in  G  minor.  The  pianist  started  the 
Beethoven  second  subject  correctly,  and  then  in  a  moment  of 
oblivion  wandered  away  into  the  one  in  the  Mendelssohn  Concerto 
to  the  astonishment  of  the  audience  and  his  own  dismay  when  he 


PROLOGUE:  PREPARING  FOR  THE  PIANIST'S  CAREER    17 

realized  what  he  was  doing !  It  is  said  that  this  particular  artist 
never  would  play  in  public  again  without  his  music,  so  greatly 
had  he  been  upset  by  the  occurrence. 

The  pianist  has  also  to  learn  to  control  himself  in  the  emergency 
of  forgetting,  which  is  one  of  the  most  agonizing  experiences  that 
an  artist  can  undergo  in  public.  But  if  he  can  only  keep  his 
presence  of  mind,  he  can  often  extricate  himself  from  his 
predicament  with  the  aid  of  his  musical  instinct,  and  that  sometimes 
so  cleverly,  that  his  lapse  will  pass  unnoticed  by  any  save  the  most 
knowing  amongst  the  audience.  To  do  this  of  course  needs  great 
command  of  nerve  on  the  part  of  the  performer,  but  as  in  every 
public  career  emergencies  do  arise  occasionally,  it  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  professional  artist's  equipment  that  he  should  know 
how  to  meet  them. 

Kis  own  nervousness  is  one  of  the  worst  demons  he  has  to 
combat.  Even  very  experienced  players  suffer  from  this  on  the 
concert  platform;  in  fact,  as  the  artist  gets  older  and  under- 
stands his  responsibilities  better  he  will  feel,  as  a  rule,  more 
nervous  than  the  youth  who  does  not  realize  so  much.  But  his 
greater  experience  will  help  him  naturally  to  obtain  the  mastery 
over  this  difficulty,  and  even  to  turn  the  inner  excitement  it  causes 
to  good  account.  For  when  he  can  command  it,  this  tension  of 
the  nerves  will  stimulate  the  brain  to  greater  activity  and  thus 
will  help  the  performer  to  give  a  more  vivid  interpretation  to  the 
music  than  if  he  was  feeling  quite  cold  and  indifferent.  I  have 
never  known  any  really  fine  artist  who  did  not  sometimes  suffer 
from  nervousness  in  public,  but  that  need  not  frighten  the  beginner, 
as  through  constant  playing  in  concerts  he  will  acquire  the  habit 
of  the  platform  to  a  certain  extent,  and  gain  the  necessary  control 
over  himself. 

MINOR   DIFFICULTIES 

Many  minor  upsets  in  the  way  of  small  emergencies  may  occur 
at  any  time  during  a  concert  which  also  the  artist  must  not  allow 
to  put  liini  r)ut.  For  instance,  he  may  have  a  difficult  or 
unsympathetic  conductor,  if  it  is  an  orchestral  concert,  or  the 
orchestra  may  be  poor  and  unreliable,  and  come  in  at  the  wrong 
places.  It  once  happened  to  mc  that  the  wrong  parts  had  been 
brought  for  the  orchestra,  and  when  I  came  in  to  play  and  sat 
down,  prepared  with  the  F  IHat  Concerto  of  Liszt,  to  my  horror 
they  gaily  started  the  opening  bars  of  the  Saint-Sacns'  Concerto 
in  C  minor!  There  was  no  time  to  protest,  the  audience  was 
sitting  expectant.    Luckily  T  knew  the  other  concerto  and  so  followed 


18  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

bravely  on  with  it.  but  I  was  certainly  not  prepared  to  play  it  at  a 
moment's  notice  in  i)ublic.  without  looking  through  it  first! 

That  contretemps  arose  from  having  no  time  to  rehearse,  and 
I  earnestly  counsel  all  young  pianists  to  insist  upon  a  rehearsal 
when  pla\ing  with  the  orchestra  wherever  possible,  no  matter  how 
much  extra  travelling  or  fatigue  it  may  cause  them.  For  it  is 
almost  out  of  the  question  to  obtain  a  really  satisfactory  performance 
of  a  work  from  anyone's  standpoint  by  just  scrambling  through 
it,  in  terror  all  the  time  lest  the  orchestra  should  not  follow  you, 
as  happens  when  concertos  are  played  in  public  without  rehearsal. 
Of  course  if  the  artist  has  done  the  same  concerto  many  times 
with  the  same  conductor  and  orchestra,  and  they  well  know  the 
rendering  he  gives  of  the  work,  the  case  is  rather  different.  Under 
such  conditions  the  pianist  would  be  justified,  if  there  was  any 
difficulty  about  a  rehearsal,  in  doing  without  one,  but  even  then 
it  is  far  better  for  the  young  artist  to  make  a  point  of  it. 

There  are  two  other  things  I  would  like  to  speak  about  before 
closing  this  chapter,  which  are  in  close  connection  with  the  pianist's 
outlook  upon  life.  The  first  is,  that  I  do  recommend  him  most 
sincerely  not  to  neglect  his  general  education  and  risk  becoming 
what  used  to  be  called  "  music  simple !  "  Music  is  such  an  absorbing 
study,  and  taken  professionally  it  uses  up  so  much  energy  and 
mind  power,  that  it  is  difficult  I  know  sometimes  to  keep  up  interest 
in  many  other  subjects  at  the  same  time,  especially  during  student 
years.  But  I  am  certain  that  it  is  an  inestimable  advantage  to  the 
virtuoso  to  have  his  brain  alive  to  every  branch  of  intellectual 
endeavour.  For  the  broader  and  more  enlightened  his  vision  of 
life,  so  much  the  finer  and  profounder  his  own  art  will  become. 

NEVER    PLAY    DOWN    TO    AN    AUDIENCE 

Secondly,  though  not  quite  in  the  category  of  what  I  have 
just  been  saying,  yet  relative  to  the  same  high  conception  of  his 
art,  I  greatly  urge  the  young  professional  never  to  play  down  to 
an  audience.  By  this  I  mean,  never  to  be  persuaded  to  play 
second-rate  music  to  a  certain  class  of  public  on  the  plea  that  they 
are  not  sufficiently  educated  to  appreciate  the  best.  This  is  the 
greatest  possible  fallacy,  as  I  know  by  experience,  for  I  have 
played  all  over  the  world  to  every  sort  and  condition  and  class 
of  people,  and  I  have  always  found  that  they  respect  and  are 
interested  in  one's  art  even  when  they  do  not  quite  understand 
it  all,  and  that  they  appreciate  and  desire  the  best  a  man  can  do. 
The  artist   should   always  try  to   stimulate   his  public   up   to  the 


PROLOGUE:  PREPARING  FOR  THE  PIANIST'S  CAREER    19 

highest  kind  of  music  and  never  sink  to  clap-trap  in  order  to 
entice  their  passing  fancy.  Otherwise,  though  they  may  enjoy 
themselves  for  the  moment,  they  will  not  want  to  come  again  and 
he  will  be  lowered  in  their  estimation  to  the  level  of  what  they 
have  heard  from  him. 

To  play  up  to  the  highest  standard  ought  to  be  the  cardinal 
maxim  of  the  young  pianist,  and  then  with  hard  work,  enthusiasm 
and  unfailing  resolution  he  will  in  time  make  his  way  up  the 
steep  ladder  into  first  rank  and  win  the  rewards  of  success. 


Chapter  II 

HOW  TO  PRACTISE 

I  AM  devoting  this  chapter  entirely  to  the  subject  of  how  to 
practise  the  piano,  and  shall  try  to  point  out  here  what  I  have 
found  from  my  experience  to  be  the  most  efficacious  way  of 
setting  about  it. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  cardinal  rules  to  be  observed  in  all 
practising  should  be,  first,  great  attention  to  detail ;  second, 
avoidance  of  over- fatigue,  both  mental  and  physical.  It  is  also 
most  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  the  best  results  to  set  up 
from  the  outset  some  fixed  schedule  of  practising.  Systematically 
ordered  work  is  such  an  inestimable  help  in  all  stages  of  piano- 
playing,  but  more  especially  in  the  elementary  one,  as  I  myself 
well  know,  for  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  start  my .  pianoforte 
education  with  teachers  who  were  steeped  in  the  best  traditions. 
My  first  one  was  my  father.  Prof.  Michael  Hambourg,  who  had 
been  a  pupil  of  Nicholas  Rubinstein;  while  my  second,  the  famous 
Leschetitzky,  had  studied  with  Czerny. 

And  Czerny  especially  represents  the  school  of  pianoforte 
playing  which  has  produced  many  of  the  greatest  pianists  of  modern 
times,  his  influence  extending  through  Liszt,  Anton  Rubinstein, 
Tausig,  etc.,  down  to  many  famous  pianists  of  to-day.  Therefore 
I  am  a  great  believer  in  starting  to  study  according  to  a  good 
method,  or  school,  as  we  call  it.  Such  a  method  will  train  the 
mind  and  fingers  in  a  definite  and  organized  trend  of  technical 
development. 

Of  course,  it  is  a  good  thing  as  well  to  acquire  a  theoretical 
and  general  musical  education,  but  I  think,  especially  in  the  training 
of  children  who  intend  to  become  professionals  later  on,  that  it  is 
imperative  that  their  main  energy  and  time  should  be  directed  first 
of  all  to  learning  how  to  master  the  technical  difficulties  of  their 
instrument.  I  do  not  believe  that  musical  children  learn  much 
away  from  the  piano,  at  least  they  cannot  acquire  the  actual 
mechanical  facility  of  playing  except  at  the  keyboard.  I  wish  to 
lay  stress  on  this  fact,  because  there  are  in  fashion  just  now  so 
many  clever  ways  of  educating  children  musically.  For  instance, 
they  are  taught  how  to  compose  fugues  in  imitation  of  Bach  after 

30 


HOW  TO  PRACTISE  21 

a  few  hours  of  tuition,  etc.  This  kind  of  instruction  is  doubtless 
of  advantage  in  stimulating  general  musical  knowledge  and,  above 
all,  for  training  unmusical  little  ones  and  developing  the  faculty 
which  might  otherwise  be  completely  lost  to  them,  but  in  the 
education  of  the  young  pianist  such  systems  must  never  be  allowed 
to  obscure  the  main  issue,  which  has  always  to  be,  first  of  all, 
the  acquirement  of  absolute  proficiency  at  the  keyboard. 

Practice  in  early  childhood  should  never  be  for  a  period  of 
more  than  half  an  hour,  aad  the  whole  amount  to  be  done  should 
not  exceed  one  hour.  Also  care  ought  to  be  taken  to  procure  music 
for  children  to  study  which  will  appeal  to  their  imaginations,  and 
even  their  exercises  should  be  in  pleasant  forms  of  sound,  which 
will  help  to  keep  them  interested.  And  the  best  thing  is  to  instil 
as  soon  as  possible  into  the  mind  of  the  child  the  desire  for  beauty 
of  touch  and  clearness  of  execution. 

NO   CHILD   SHOULD    PRACTISE   ALONE 

No  child  ought  to  be  left  to  practise  by  himself;  someone 
should  always  sit  with  him  and  see  that  he  gives  each  note  its 
full  value.  To  attain  this  object  it  is  excellent  to  make  the  little 
one  count  out  aloud  while  playing.  The  pedal  should  never  be 
permitted,  and  each  hand  ought  to  be  practised  separately.  For 
if  the  two  hands  are  worked  together  the  concentration  of  the 
mind  is  divided,  instead  of  being  directed  to  one  thing  at  a  time. 
Besides,  a  certain  amount  of  covering  up  of  the  sound  goes  on 
when  both  hands  are  playing,  which  is  bad,  and  impedes  clearness 
of  execution  and  conception  of  the  difficulties  to  be  contended 
with. 

These  remarks  about  the  separate  practice  of  each  hand  are 
intended  to  apply  mainly  to  the  purely  mechanical  exercises,  such 
as  are  used  for  the  articulation  of  the  fingers,  etc.  It  is  important, 
also,  that  such  exercises  should  be  easy  and  not  strain  the  hand, 
for  very  serious  results  can  develop  from  overstraining  of  the 
hand  in  childhood.  Exercises  and  scales  must  be  practised  in  all 
the  keys,  not  only  in  C  major  in  which  they  are  generally  written, 
as  it  is  of  great  benefit  to  the  child  to  be  able  to  play  as  easily  in 
one  key  as  another.  Another  good  maxim  to  be  observed  is  not 
to  allow  exercises  to  be  repeated  ad  nauseam,  over  and  over  again, 
as  the  mind  only  gets  bewildered  with  the  unceasing  repetitions, 
and  no  result  can  then  be  obtained. 

I  am  speaking  here  at  some  length  about  the  practising  of  a 
child,  as,  if  the  routine  of  good  systematic  work  is  acquired  in 


22  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

early  yoiUh,  it  becomes  a  habit  and  continues  naturally  throughout 
lite.' 

I  now  arrive  at  a  further  stage,  when,  having  been  carefully 
initiated,  the  young  student  begins  to  consider  the  piano  as  his 
life-work.  His  problem  then  becomes  that  of  all  pianists,  both 
great  and  small,  namely  and  principally,  how  to  practise  in  such 
a  way  as  to  obtain  the  maximum  of  economy  in  time  and  effort, 
to  keep  always  fresli  in  mind  and  to  avoid  too  much  repetition. 

Generally  I  advise  that  the  average  practice  of  an  advanced 
student  and,  indeed,  of  any  pianist,  be  not  more  than  five  hours 
a  day,  and  not  less  than  three,  under  ordinary  circumstances. 
Those  who  have  no  technical  talent  at  all  and  have  great  difficulty 
in  acquiring  adequate  mastery  of  means,  or  those  whose  musical 
memory  is  weak,  can  practise  more,  and  often  do,  but  on  the  whole 
very  extended  hours  of  study  only  tend  to  staleness.  In  any  case 
the  student  should  devise  a  systematic  way  of  dividing  up  his 
hours  of  practice  if  he  wants  to  get  the  best  profit  out  of  his 
work.  For  until  he  has  experience  in  concert  playing  and  the 
frequent  opportunity  of  performing  in  public  (which  thing,  of 
course,  impedes  practising  and  also  obviates  to  some  extent  the 
necessity  of  it),  he  must  always  give  a  certain  definite  time  every 
day  to  purely  technical  study. 

A    REGULAR   DAILY    COURSE 

To  this  end  the  pianist  ought  to  draw  up  for  himself  a  regular 
course  to  be  pursued,  such  as  the  following.  First,  a  short  space 
should  always  be  given  to  finger  technique,  ten  minutes  of  scales, 
ten  minutes  of  arpeggi.  Scales  to  be  played  in  four  different  keys 
each  day,  with  their  accompanying  arpeggi  in  every  development, 
also  the  chromatic  and  contrary  motion  scales.  Thus  if  four 
scales  in  four  different  keys  are  done  each  day,  the  whole  range  of 
scales  will  be  got  through  every  three  days.  After  these  scales 
ten  or  twelve  jive-finger  exercises,  comprising  all  the  positions 
of  the  hand,  can  be  worked  at.  Hanon's  and  Czerny's  Exercises 
are  the  ones  which  I  particularly  recommend;  they  are  quite 
excellent  for  helping  to  acquire  an  even  and  rapid  articulation 
of  the  fingers.  Also  as  the  student  advances  he  should  add 
Moszkowski's  school  of  thirds  and  sixths  to  his  daily  round. 

The  reason  why  all  this  technical  daily  study  is  so  essential  is, 
because  to  obtain  a  supple,  easy  mastery  of  the  piano,  it  is  necessary 
to  possess  a  real  athletic  agility  of  fingers,  hands  and  arms.  And 
just  as  an  athlete  in  training  does  a  fixed  amount  of  regular  exercises 


HOW  TO  PRACTISE  23 

every  day,  to  keep  the  muscles  of  his  whole  body  in  elasticity  and 
fitness,  so  must  the  pianist  go  through  a  similar  process  to  train  his 
arms,  hands  and  fingers. 

COMMON    SENSE    PRACTICE 

Now  there  are  many  common  sense  axioms  to  be  observed 
in  the  details  of  practising,  which  the  student  will  find  out  by 
experience.  For  instance,  if  he  has  to  play  on  a  certain  day  a 
piece  in  which  many  octaves  and  double  notes  occur,  he  should 
on  that  day  make  a  point  of  practising  only  scales  and  exercises 
for  the  simple  articulation  of  the  fingers.  He  should  take  care 
during  his  working  hours  not  to  study  the  same  octave  and  double- 
note  techniques  as  are  to  be  foufid  in  the  piece  that  he  will  be 
playing  later  on  in  tlie  day,  for  if  he  does  so  he  will  risk  suffering 
from  lameness  of  the  hands.  Such  lameness  will  appear  from 
working  the  hands  too  long  in  certain  extended  positions  as  are 
peculiar  to  octave  playing,  etc.  Therefore  great  variety  of  motion 
must  always  be  aimed  at,  in  order  to  keep  the  hands  fresh  and 
vigorous.  Also  should  the  student  experience  the  slightest  fatigue 
in  the  hand  when  playing  scales  and  passages,  let  him  instantly 
cease  until  that  feeling  has  quite  passed  away. 

OCTAVE  EXERCISES 

Much  practising  of  octave  exercises  should  ever  be  avoided,  for 
as  the  action  used  in  playing  octaves  is  a  good  deal  produced  by 
the  contraction  of  the  muscles  of  the  forearm,  continuous  work 
of  this  sort  tends  to  strain  them,  and  generates  a  sort  of  cramp 
which  is  very  difficult  to  cure.  Personally,  I  think  that  students 
should  only  study  octaves  when  absolutely  imperative  for  some 
piece  they  are  learning,  and  then,  if  they  used  Kullak's  Octave 
Exercises,  they  will  find  them  amongst  the  very  best  of  their  kind. 

If  I  had  to  pronounce  an  opinion  as  to  what  I  had  found  to 
be  the  most  absolute  essential  of  a  physical  kind  for  a  pianist's 
equipment,  I  think  I  should  declare  for  a  perfectly  supple  and 
loose  wrist.  How  few  students  consider  this  acquirement  enough, 
yet  it  is  the  secret  of  all  softness  and  roundness  of  attack,  all  bril- 
liancy and  finish  of  passage  playing,  all  grace  of  expression.  He 
who  forces  the  tone  and  gets  harsh,  unpleasant  sounds  from  his 
instrument — the  unfortunate,  who,  after  many  hours  of  hard  work 
finds  himself  hopelessly  incapacitated  by  a  sudden  swelling  in  one 
of  the  tendons  of  his  arm,  or  a  stiffness  in  his  hand — both  these 
are  always  victims  of  want  of  care  given  to  the  development  of 


24  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

a  supple  wrist.  Without  perfect  freedom  of  action,  there  is  no 
real  power  or  elasticity,  no  proper  play  for  the  tingers,  and  the 
performer  will  generally  fail  at  the  critical  moment  in  difficult 
rapid  passages. 

There  are  many  schools  of  piano  playing,  various  of  which 
advocate  lifting  the  fingers  as  high  as  possible  off  the  keyboard, 
with  a  view  to  acquiring  greater  power,  but  I  camiot  help  thinking 
that  the  tone  thus  produced  is  of  a  hard,  disagreeable  nature,  and 
the  time  lost  by  such  high  articulation  detrimental  to  the  smoothness 
and  rapidity  which  are  so  necessary.  Myself,  I  greatly  advocate 
keeping  the  fingers  close  to  the  instrument  and  pressing  the  keys, 
thus  giving  the  sound  a  warmer  and  more  elastic  quality  and 
modifying  the  naturally  more  or  less  wooden  tone  which  pianists 
have  always  to  contend  against  to  a  certain  extent  even  in  the 
finest  pianos,  by  reason  of  their  constitution,  as  compared  with 
stringed  instruments. 

I  do  not  find  elaborate  studies  very  efficacious  for  the  purely 
mechanical  development  of  technique,  as  the  embellishments  and 
harmonies  which  make  the  palatableness  of  such  studies  only 
distract  the  student's  mind  away  from  the  main  point  of  advancing 
the  technical  power,  and  thus  cause  loss  of  time  and  effort.  For 
the  only  really  valuable  study  is  that  which  concentrates  its  whole 
energy  in  pursuing  the  true  object  to  be  achieved  in  each  particular 
branch  of  work.  And  it  is  far  more  profitable  to  practise  for 
a  short  time  with  absolute  concentration  on  the  technical  problem 
in  order  definitely  to  surmount  it,  than  to  pass  several  more  or 
less  wasteful  hours  dallying  with  the  difficulties  wrapped  up  as 
they  are  in  elaborate  studies  with  a  pleasant  gilding  of  harmonies 
and  progressions. 

Also,  many  of  the  studies  which  are  given  to  students  with 
a  view  to  helping  them  technically  are  in  themselves  bad  music 
as  well  as  indifferent  mechanical  aids.  Of  course,  these  remarks 
with  regard  to  studies  in  general  are  certainly  not  meant  to  include 
real  concert  studies,  such  as  those  of  Chopin,  Liszt,  etc.,  but  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  these  are  not  purely  studies  for 
technique,  but  are  rather  beautiful  musical  problems  to  be  unravelled 
when  a  certain  amount  of  facility  has  already  been  acquired  by 
the  student. 

Advanced  students  should  also  endeavour  in  their  practising 
to  prepare  themselves  along  certain  lines  of  study,  with  a  view 
to  making  a  repertoire  of  pieces,  which  will  be  useful  to  them 
when  the  time  comes  for  them  to  make  up  programmes  for  their 
concerts. 


HOW  TO  PRACTISE  25 

Now  as  regards  how  to  start  the  study  of  a  piece,  it  is  as  well 
first  of  all  to  look  at  it  from  the  technical  point  of  view  alone. 
For  until  means  have  been  mastered  no  proper  musical  expression 
or  interpretation  can  be  adequately  conveyed.  First  of  all,  then, 
the  pianist  ought  to  dissect  the  piece  from  the  mechanical  side 
and  find  out  where  the  most  difficult  passages  occur.  Technically 
speaking,  of  course,  all  pieces  are  merely  collections  of  scales,  thirds, 
passages,  etc.,  harmonically  treated  in  different  ways  and  used 
as  the  vehicles  to  express  the  composer's  ideas. 

MASTERING    DIFFICULT    PASSAGES 

Having  decided  which  are  the  most  awkward  passages  to 
master  in  his  piece,  the  student  should  not  then  just  play  themj 
over  and  over  again,  as  so  many  do,  hoping  that  by  much  repetition 
the  difficulties  will  finally  be  surmounted.  He  must  rather  play 
his  passages  once  or  twice,  then  stop  and  think, about  them  for  a 
minute,  and  try  to  get  a  clear  definition  of  them  in  his  mind. 
Then  start  afresh,  and  having  worked  a  little  more,  pause  again. 
By  thus  stopping  to  think  and  keep  his  mind  lucid  he  will  both 
master  and  retain  passages  with  much  greater  ease  and  rapidity 
than  by  confusing  his  mind  through  continuous  reiteration  without 
ever  pausing  to  listen  properly  or  to  consider  what  the  passage 
should  sound  like. 

It  is  also  a  very  good  thing  when  first  learning  a  piece  to 
divide  it,  taking,  -say,  each  eight  bars  or  so  at  a  time  to  work  at, 
and  thus  getting  to  know  the  component  parts  well  before  reviewing 
the  work  as  a  whole.  Another  branch  of  practising  which  is  too 
aften  neglected  by  the  young  pianist  is  the  study  of  the  bass  or 
frame  work  of  the  music  he  learns.  Many  times  one  hears 
something  played  in  such  a  way  that  the  bass  part  is  completely 
swallowed  up,  and  nothing  can  be  heard  but  the  right  hand.  This 
defect  is  the  more  difficult  to  conquer,  because  the  left  hand,  to 
which  the  bass  in  entrusted,  is  naturally  with  most  people  the  feebler 
member.  Yet  weakness  in  the  bass  parts  is  a  very  serious  fault, 
for  it  often  undermines  the  whole  construction  of  a  piece  and 
upsets  all  the  harmonies.  After  all,  nuisic,  like  everything  else, 
must  have  a  good,  stable  foundation.  Therefore  the  student  must 
give  much  care  and  attention  to  the  bass  parts  of  his  piece. 

I  cannot  end  this  cha|)ter  about  practising  better  than  by 
earnestly  recommending  all  students,  from  the  very  outset,  to  apply 
themselves  to  the  diligent  study  of  the  works  of  Hach.  There  is 
no  composer  who.se  music  is  so  well  calculated   to  give  the   best 


oQ  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

-i,k1  most  detailed  knowledge  of  polyphonic  playing  in  addition  to 
perfect  freedom  of  technique  in  both  hands  and  mdepcndence  of 
action  and  thought.  It  also  goes  without  saying  that  constant  work 
amoncr  Bach's  masterpieces  of  intellect  and  feelmg  are  of 
immeasurable  value  in  developing  the  whole  artistic  taste  and 
understanding  of  the  mind. 


Chapter  III 

ON  TECHNIQUE  GENERALLY 

The  bare  word  technique,  when  appHed  to  pianoforte  playing, 
seems  often  to  give  people  an  erroneous  impression  of  its  real 
significance.  It  seems  to  mean  to  them  just  the  power  of  being 
able  to  play  very  rapidly,  and  also  to  perform  very  difficult  passages, 
upon  the  keyboard,  and  often  the  word  seems  to  carry  with  it  a 
strange  sort  of  odium  to  certain  kinds  of  music-lovers.  **  A 
wonderful  technician,"  they  cry,  about  some  pianist,  "  but  nothing 
more." 

How  can  this  prejudice  against  great  development  of  technique 
have  arisen?  I  think  that  it  is  just  because  technique  is  sometimes 
considered  as  meaning  only  that  one-sided  capability  pf  being  able 
to  move  the  fingers  and  hands  with  special  agility — "  digital 
dexterity,"  as  the  critics  call  it! 

That  particular  capacity  is  no  doubt  a  very  important  and 
necessary  branch  of  technique  on  the  piano,  but  it  is  only  one 
small  part  of  the  whole  immense  subject;  and  the  pianist  who  has 
given  all  his  attention  to  that  branch  alone  can  certainly  not  be 
called  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  a  great  technician,  nor  can 
he  arrive  at  the  highest  results  with  only  that  development. 

SIGNIFIES  PERFECT  ATTAINMENT 

Technique  in  pianoforte  playing,  as  in  all  other  arts,  signifies 
far  more  than  agility  and  rapidity  of  finger  action.  Rather  does 
its  perfect  attainment  comprise  within  itself  every  means  of 
expression  that  it  is  possible  for  the  artist  pianist  to  command. 
Thus  technique  rei)resents  to  him  in  all  its  varying  branches, 
endurance,  tone  or  colour  production,  touch,  intensity  of  feeling, 
phrasing,  elegance  of  execution,  symmetry  of  detail.  And  the 
man  who  has  only  studied  and  can  merely  produce  agility,  has 
but  acquired  one-fifth  part  of  pianoforte  technique;  therefore  how 
can  he  be  the  highest  kind  of  artist,  if,  indeed,  a  real  artist 
at  all ! 

Now  I  believe  that  many  people  have  the  imagination  and  the 
emotions  of  the  artistic  temperament,  but  these  qualities  with  them 

27 


28  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

lack  outlet  for  want  of  adequate  means  of  expression.  They 
cannot  jj^ive  a  vent  to  their  tlunii^lus,  because  they  do  not  possess 
the  technical  development  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  do  so. 
Technicjue  should  therefore  comprise  the  mastery  of  all  means 
of  self-expression  in  nuisic,  and  on  the  piano  especially  can  no 
player  atTord  to  ne<:i^lect  any  manual  facility  that  tends  in  the  long 
run  to  help  him  arrive  at  the  summit  of  interpretation.  For  it 
stands  to  reason  that  the  more  physical  capacity  the  artist  possesses 
for  clothing  his  thoughts,  the  less  hampered  will  he  be  in  giving 
expression  to  the  best  that  is  in  him. 

AN   INFALLIBLE  TEST 

The  artists  who  have  really  g'eat  command  of  means  are  the 
ones  who,  no  matter  how  hard  or  elaborate  in  musical  writing  the 
passages  are  which  they  have  to  play,  manage  to  make  those  passages 
sound  so  beautiful  and  full  of  expression  that  the  listener  will 
never  notice  whether  the  music  that  is  being  performed  is  difficult 
or  not,  so  absorbed  will  he  be  in  the  delight  the  playing  gives  him. 
How  much  consummate  technique  is  there  sometimes  expended  upon 
the  execution  of  a  quite  simple  melody,  slow,  soft  and  melting, 
the  tones  flowing  into  each  other,  so  that  no  one  who  listens  can 
realize  that  the  piano  which  is  being  played  is  only  a  mechanical 
instrument  with  hammers  that  strike  upon  copper  strings.  What 
patience  and  study,  too,  is  needed  to  develop  the  deep  sonority  of 
touch  in  massive  chords,  and  the  light  brilliancy  of  rippling 
progressions. 

All  this  is  impossible  without  technical  command,  and  it  is 
only  when  mastery  of  every  kind  of  vehicle  for  expression  has 
been  acquired  that  interpretation  can  be  approached  with  confidence. 
There  is  no  greater  suffering  to  the  artist  than  to  have  in  his  mind 
a  certain  impression  which  the  music  has  created  in  it,  and  not  to 
be  able  to  reproduce  the  picture  on  his  piano,  because  he  has 
shortcomings  in  technique  which  deter  him.  On  the  other  hand, 
what  joy  it  is  to  a  pianist  to  resume  the  playing  of  some  great 
masterpiece,  which  he  had  studied  diligently  in  former  years,  and 
at  that  time  had  never  succeeded  in  giving  to  it  the  rendering  that 
he  sought,  owing  to  insufficient  mastery  of  means.  But  upon 
starting  upon  it  again  after  this  long  period  during  which  he 
had  doubtless  been  developing  gradually,  and  probably  unconsciously, 
he  finds  tha^  now  he  can  at  last  do  with  ease  what  he  wants  in 
the  piece,  and  which  he  never  could  arrive  at  before.  To  attain 
such  a  reward  is  worth  all  the  labours  of  Hercules! 


ON  TECHNIQUE  GENERALLY  29 


A    GREAT    FALLACY 

It  is  a  great  fallacy  to  think  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  play 
passages  and  intricate  ornamentation  in  music  very  fast,  or  very 
loud,  than  softly  and  at  a  moderate  speed.  It  is  often  the  contrary 
which  is  the  case.  Pianists  sometimes  increase  their  tone  and  their 
tempo  more  than  they  intend  to  do  through  nervousness  and  want 
of  confidence  or  from  fear  of  failure  of  memory.  The  pianist  who 
can  plav  a  long  series  of  intricate  and  more  or  less  rapid  successions 
of  passages  in  a  slow  tempo,  and  pianissimo,  with  a  lot  of  rh>1;hm,  is 
often  doing  thereby  something  that  is  actually  harder  to  achieve 
than  the  more  showy  splash-dash  which  to  the  uninitiated  might 
seem  most  wonderful. 

Of  course  the  greatest  technique  implies  absolute  mastery  and 
judgment  in  ever>1;hing,  so  that  the  brilliant  fast  passage  is  given 
with  the  necessary  force  and  elan,  while  the  soft  elegant 
ornamentation  receives  in  its  turn  grace  and  finish.  To  play 
rhythmically  the  pianist  must  possess  technique  of  finger  articulation, 
to  play  with  colour  he  must  acquire  the  technique  of  the  pedal, 
to  play  with  feeling  and  emotion  he  must  have  the  technique  of 
touch,  to  play  with  power  he  must  learn  the  technique  of  how  to 
apply  strength.  All  these  many  branches  go  to  make  up  the  one 
comprehensive  material  called  technique  which  the  pianist  must 
work  with  to  produce  his  aesthetic  objective. 

Therefore  no  student  may  despise  or  undervalue  even  its  most 
mechanical  aspects.  For  as  in  architecture  every  humble  and 
uninteresting  stone  has  its  own  indispensable  aesthetic  necessity 
in  the  building  of  the  palace  or  cathedral,  even  so  is  it  also  in 
pianoforte  playing;  to  attain  the  noblest  results  no  details  of 
workmanship,  however  insignificant,  should  be  neglected. 

Genius  means  not  only  imagination  and  temperament,  but  also 
the  capacity  of  conveying  them  to  the  world  through  the  vehicle 
of  some  medium,  over  which  a  complete  mastery  has  been  obtained. 


Chapter  TV 

CAN  YOU  PLAY  A  SCALE? 

Among  the  many  students  who  come  and  play  to  me  and  ask 
me  for  advice,  the  majority  remind  me  of  a  well-known  limerick 
about  a  certain  young  lady  of  Rio,  whose  skill  was  so  scanty  she 
played  Andante  instead  of  Allegro  con  brio! 

I  must  be  excused  for  drawing  attention  to  the  young  lady 
of  Rio,  but  it  is  because  her  case  is  true  and  typical  of  so  many 
other  young  females — and  also  males — whose  houses  are  much 
nearer  London  than  Rio.  I  should  like,  therefore,  to  say  a  few 
words  about  attempting  to  play  great  masterpieces  of  pianoforte 
music  without  sufficient  knowledge  of  technique,  and  especially  of 
that  immensely  important  branch  of  it,  the  mastery  of  scales. 

It  has  been  my  experience  that  whenever  particularly  young 
and  raw  students  come  to  play  to  me  and  want  to  show  what  they 
can  do,  they  invariably  attempt  such  giant  works  as  the  Brahms- 
Handel  Variations,  or  the  Appassionata  Sonata  of  Beethoven,  or  the 
Chopin  Ballads.  After  they  have  finished  playing  a  sonata  or 
two  (most  often  in  tempo  andante,  like  our  friend  of  Rio),  I  ask 
them  to  play  me  a  scale.  They  usually  evince  astonishment  at 
my  request,  and  answer  that  they  never  practise  scales  at  all. 

If  ever  they  do  what  I  ask,  their  performance  of  them  proves 
to  be,  as  a  rule,  unrhythmical,  uneven  and  altogether  unsatisfactory. 
Yet  most  pianoforte  works  contain  passage-writing  which  is 
directly  based  upon  scale  progressions.  I  have  known  many 
advanced  pianoforte  students  who  are  quite  unable  to  arrive  at  any 
high  standard  of  performance  through  lack  of  technical  knowledge 
and  want  of  proficiency  in  scale-playing. 

EXPRESSION  OR  EXECUTION? 

Who  does  not  quote,  at  times,  in  referring  to  such  performers, 
the  hackneyed  plea  for  indulgence :  "  He  makes  up  in  expression 
what  he  lacks  in  execution  "  ?  As  if  this  excuse  itself  did  not 
prove  upon  examination  to  be  a  sheer  piece  of  nonsense.  For 
where  there  is  no  sufficient  command  of  execution  the  expression 

30 


CAN  YOU  PLAY  A  SCALE?  SI 

can  only  be  halting,  stilted,  and  ineffective.  In  a  reproductive  art, 
such  as  pianoforte-playing,  the  perfect  rendering  of  all  the  emotions 
inspired  by  the  music  can  only  be  obtained  through  unlimited  control 
of  technique,  which,  of  course,  implies  absolute  mastery  of  manual 
dexterity. 

So  many  talented  amateurs  who  really  wish  to  study  their  art 
to  the  backbone  and  attain  professional  proficiency  do  not  realize 
that  they  must  first  acquire  what  is  generally  known  among  artists 
as  a  good  "  school."  The  world  "  school  "  used  in  this  sense 
means  a  firm  background  of  technical  principles  by  which  difficulties 
can  be  solved  in  the  most  logical  and  profitable  manner.  The 
acquirement  of  these  principles  can  only  be  gained  in  the  years 
of  hard  work  which  should  precede  any  serious  attempt  at 
performance. 

It  was  interesting  to  me,  in  the  light  of  my  views  on  this 
subject,  to  have  been  present  recently  at  the  Dancing  School  of 
the  Russian  Ballet.  Here  their  greatest  stars  practise  every  day, 
for  several  hours,  technical  exercises  and  steps  which  eventually 
constitute  a  wonderful  and  intricate  ballet.  And  though  to  the 
impatient  the  mere  study  of  scales  may  seem  intolerably  dull,  yet 
it  is  a  wonderful  feeling  to  notice  power  growing  gradually,  and 
things   becoming  easy   which   at   first  seemed  insurmountable. 

PERFECT   SCALE-PLAYING 

On  the  piano  there  are  many  branches  of  virtuosity  to  be 
mastered,  but  none  more  essential  than  perfect  scale-playing.  Much 
of  the  bad  fingering  which  impedes  pianists  from  getting  through 
passages  of  elaborate  runs  is  due  to  ignorance  of  this  important 
technical  detail. 

Almost  of  equal  necessity  with  scales  are  arpeggi,  which  should 
always  be  practised  in  conjunction  with  them,  with  every  kind  of 
different  accent  and  rhythm.  The  serious  student  should  make 
a  point  of  studying  these  for  at  least  one  hour  every  day,  playing 
scales  and  ar])cggi  in  ff)ur  different  tonalities  each  day,  and  going 
through  all  their  harmcjiiic  developments  as  set  down  in  the 
compendium  at  the  end  of  this  book. 

I  believe  in  ])ractising  scales  slowly,  and  playing  each  hand 
.separately,  and,  above  all,  in  working  with  the  utmost  concentration 
of  the  mind.  One  hour  of  concentrated  practice  is  worth  ten 
hours  of  mechanical  repetition  of  difficulties  by  people  who  scarcely 
think  what  they  are  doing.  Practising,  even  of  scales,  must  never 
become  mechanical,  fjr  the  labour  is  vain. 


82  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

The  student  should  always  he  intently  listening,  and  be  sure 
that  no  sini:;Ie  note  has  an  uj^ly  st)und,  hut  that  each  is  played  with 
a  musical  touch  antl  the  tone  produced  is  round  and  full.  Even 
the  most  uninspiring  exercises  can  be  made  to  sound  pleasing  and 
harmonious  if  played  with  scrupulous  attention  to  the  quality 
of  tone. 

A   MENTAL  STIMULUS 

It  is  to  this  end  essential  in  scale-playing  that  a  certain  pressure 
should  be  given  on  the  keys  with  every  linger  as  it  falls.  The 
importance  of  this  pressure  lies  not  actually  in  itself,  but  in  the 
principle  it  contains.  For  the  action  of  making  the  effort  of 
pressure  upon  each  note  gives  a  mental  stimulus.  This  idea  of 
continually  renewed  pressure  to  "  activate  "  work  is  also  advocated 
by  some  of  the  professors  of  physical  culture.  Springs  are  made 
in  dumbbells  for  the  hands  of  victims  to  press  upon.  These 
trainers  of  the  body  have  realized  by  experience  that  unless  the 
minds  of  their  patients  can  be  concentrated  on  their  work  by  having 
to  press  the  spring  of  the  dumbbell,  their  actions  soon  become  purely 
automatic  and  cease  to  exercise  their  muscles  properly. 

So  it  is  also  on  the  pianoforte  keyboard.  The  player's  mind 
is  kept  alert  by  having  to  press  the  fingers  down  upon  the  keys, 
and  being  thus  forced  to  think  about  what  he  is  doing.  For  if 
the  fingers  merely  run  over  the  keyboard  without  attention,  that 
kind  of  practice  can  do  no  possible  good  whatever.  The  mind  must 
ilways  be  present  like  a  general,  whilst  the  fingers  are  the  soldiers 
who  obey  his  behests. 

No  doubt  every  beginner  should  seek  out  a  good  teacher  to 
show  him  how  to  set  about  conquering  difficulties,  but  however 
wonderful  the  teacher,  it  is  up  to  the  pupil  to  concentrate  and  see 
that  his  mind  works  in  conjunction  with  his  fingers.  Hard  work 
for  the  mastery  of  detail  and  unlimited  concentration  of  thought 
are  necessary  for  arriving  at  any  really  fine  performance  on  the 
pianoforte. 

A    COMMON    FAULT 

The  fault  of  most  players  who  come  to  me  is  that  their 
preparation  before  attempting  to  attack  a  great  work  has  not  been 
sufficient.  And  for  this  the  teacher  must  sometimes  be  held 
responsible  to  a  certain  degree,  because,  naturally  desiring  the  pupil 
to  make  quick  progress,  he  gives  him  Liszt's  Rhapsodies  and 
Beethoven's  greatest  Sonatas  to  play,  after  only  a  few  months  of 
perfunctory  study.     The  students  also  YiLve   a  natural   desire  to 


CAN  YOU  PLAY  A  SCALE?  83 

astonish  their  parents  and  gratify  their  patrons,  and  often  to  justify 
the  spending  of  a  good  deal  of  money  on  their  musical  education. 
Most  of  them  rely  on  so-called  musical  feeling,  charming  touch,  and 
other  elusive  qualities,  which  have  possibly  been  "  enthused  "  over 
by  their  supporters !  Thus  they  fritter  away  valuable  time  in  chase 
of  shadows,  instead  of  settling  down  under  a  severe  and  accomplished 
master  to  genuine  hard  study  of  scales  ^nd  other  exercises. 

I  am  constantly  seeing  advertisements  by  teachers  of  "  how 
to  play  the  piano  in  five  minutes  by  correspondence!  "  But  I  know 
by  my  own  experience  that  after  thirty  years  of  continuous  study 
there  are  still  many  problems  in  piano-playing  that  I  cannot  solve. 

SELF-TAUGHT  PIANISTS 

There  certainly  are  occasional  geniuses  whose  exceptional  powers 
and  facilities  for  the  pianoforte  enable  them  to  perform  in  public 
without  having  been  through  the  workshop  of  the  technical  school. 
But  these  are  few  and  far  between,  and  upon  inquiring  closely  about 
them  it  will  generally  be  found  that  their  labour  and  difficulty  in 
mastering  technical  passages  are  immeasurably  greater  than  those 
of  other  pianists  with  far  less  talent  who  have  had  the  advantage 
of  thorough  schooling. 

They  will  most  often  complain  bitterly  themselves  of  the  lack 
of  that  foundation  of  technique  they  never  had  the  opportunity 
of  acquiring,  and  the  want  of  which  continues  to  hamper  them 
through  life.  In  fact,  one  of  the  greatest  living  pianists,  who  was 
practically  self-taught,  once  told  me  that  he  would  have  saved 
himself  ten  years  of  drudgery  if  he  had  been  able  to  study  one 
year  with  a  great  pianoforte  teacher  like  Leschetitzky. 

The  hands  and  movements  of  such  self-taught  pianists,  too, 
almost  always  look  ungainly  and  distorted  on  the  keyboard  when 
playing  awkward  passages.  And  this  is  not  only  disturbing  to 
the  eye  but  very  often  also  to  the  quality  of  the  sound,  which 
quickly  becomes  laboured  and  heavy  under  severe  strain.  The 
player  who  "  arrives  "  with  such  disabilities  must  indeed  have 
genius  for  the  piano!  Hut  there  are  not  many  such  highly-gifted 
people  in  the  world,  wlu)  succeed  in  s])ite  of  every  obstacle.  I 
believe  the  inhabitants  of  this  globe  number  over  fifteen  hundred 
millions,  but  amongst  them  all  there  are  nc)t  more  than  a  dozen 
really  great  pianists! 

Therefore,  student,  learn  to  play  scales  carefully,  tunefully, 
exactly,  rhythmically,  smoothly,  and  eventually  (|uickly,  and  arpeggi 
evenly,  clearly,  and  elegantly  before  embarking  upon  the  performance 


84  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

of  the  great  works  of  pianoforte  literature.  Many  cast  up  their  eyes 
to  Heaven  in  an  inspired  way  while  playing,  hoping,  I  suppose, 
therehy  to  make  up  for  lack  of  practice  on  this  earth!  But  Heaven 
cannot  help  them  if  they  have  not  learned  to  play  scales  and  arpeggi 
properly. 

N.B. — A  compendium   of   scales,   arpeggi,   thirds  and  octaves 
is  given  at  the  end  of  this  book. 


Chapter  V 

ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  FOR  STUDY 

To  arrive  at  any  real  result  in  the  study  of  the  piano,  it  is 
essential  to  start  very  young,  and  to  train  both  the  ear  and  the 
hand  from  childhood.  In  the  case  of  the  beginner,  the  purely 
'mechanical  side  of  how  to  hold  the  hand  and  produce  a  supple 
articulation,  is,  of  course,  the  main  object,  but  together  with  this, 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  elementary  instruction  should  be  given 
in  harmony  and  the  rudiments  of  music,  that  the  pupil  may  begin 
to  understand  a  little  about  the  progressions  of  sounds  and  the 
sense  of  rhythm  which  is  so  necessary  to  musical  development. 
Nowadays,  there  are  many  and  various  systems  of  teaching  children 
these  elements  of  music,  in  forms  that  will  interest  and  entertain 
them  while  they  learn  almost  unconsciously.  And  such  teaching 
greatly  facilitates  the  technical  study,  as  it  makes  the  child  interested 
in  what  he  is  learning,  and  able  to  appreciate  to  a  certain  extent 
the  difference  and  gradations  of  the  tones  he  produces. 

Now,  as  regards  the  mechanical  beginning,  without  which  no 
one  can  really  play  the  piano  properly,  the  most  important  thing 
is  to  start  with  a  good  method  of  playing.  For  there  is  no  doubt 
that  all  reliable  technique  is  the  outcome  of  a  good  common-sense 
system  to  begin  with.  Of  course  there  exists  many  crankisms 
about  this;  the  student  may  go  to  one  teacher  who  will  tell  him 
the  only  way  to  play  the  piano  is  to  sit  practising  at  it  from 
fourteen  to  fifteen  hours  a  day,  just  doing  finger  exercises.  He  will 
go  to  another  who  will  assure  him  he  will  only  arrive  at  success 
if  he  persists  for  years,  never  lifting  his  fingers  more  than  exactly 
one-half  an  inch  from  the  keys! 

Again,  another  will  pretend  that  the  only  way  to  learn  is  by 
always  playing  pianissimo,  another  that  it  is  necessary  to  do  exercises 
only  on  a  table,  and  never  use  tlie  keyboard  for  practising  at  all, 
while  still  another  believes  in  the  purely  mechanical  development  of 
the  fingers,  by  playing  hours  and  hours  of  scales!  Then  there  are 
many  also  who  declare  that  all  technicjue  is  "Anathema,"  and  that 
every  one  should  play  as  nature  tells  them  to! 

Perhaps  this  might  occasionally  be  successful  with  a  natural-born 

35 


S6 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE   PIANO 


genius,  but  it  would  he  an  exceptionally  gifted  being  who  would  go 
very  far  without  any  method  or  school,  as  we  call  it,  to  start  with. 
For  the  human  mind  needs,  at  the  outset,  the  guidance  and  direction 
in  all  the  arts  of  certain  elementary  rules,  born  of  the  amassed 
experience  of  the  best  teaclKTrs  and  thinkers;  and  the  complete 
assimilation  of  these  rules  are  the  best  aids  and  helps  to  the  attain- 
ment of  a  more  perfect  self-expression,  when  the  time  comes  for 
the  individuality  of  a  great  talent  to  assert  itself. 


Fig.  I.    Correct  position  when  seated  at  the  keyboard. 


But  what  is  a  good  method?  Why,  a  common-sense  one,  surely! 
And  is  such  a  method  far  to  seek  ?  No,  undoubtedly  not !  It  must 
be  merely  a  system  which  does  not  exaggerate,  and  that  leaves  every 
part  of  the  hand  and  arm  in  a  natural  easy  position.  The  hand  will 
then  look  comfortable  upon  the  keyboard,  and  endless  time  will  be 
saved  in  arriving  at  an  easy  supple  velocity  of  the  fingers.  For  the 
terrific  labour  which  is  involved  by  the  neglect  of  these  simple 
principles,  in  mastering  swiftness  and  lightness  of  articulation,  only 
those  can  testify  to  who  have  had  the  bitter  experience  of  bad 
teaching  to  start  with.  I  am.  therefore,  going  to  give  here  a  few 
of  what  I  consider  the  essential  points  to  aim  at,  when  commencing 
to  learn  the  piano. 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  FOR  STUDY 


37 


POSITION   AT  THE   KEYBOARD 

The  first  thing,  then,  that  presents  itself  is  the  position  of  the 
body  when  seated  at  the  instrument.  With  regard  to  this,  the  pupil 
should  be  seated  with  his  chair  exactly  at  the  middle  of  the  keyboard, 
and  at  a  medium  distance,  that  is  to  say,  neither  too  near  nor  too 
far,  but  so  that  his  fingers  reach  and  fall  easily  and  naturally  upon 
the  white  notes  when  he  is  sitting  upright  on  the  front  half  of  the 
chair. 

On  no  account  should  the  pupil  be  allowed  to  lean  back,  but 
always  be  seated  on  the  forward  portion  of  his  seat.  The  seat 
should  be   sufficiently   raised  so   that   the  pupil's  elbows   at   their 


Fig.  2.     Showing  cup-like  position  of  the  hand. 


natural  angle  will  be  almost  on  a  level  with  the  keyboard,  if  any- 
thing just  a  little  below  it  as  shown  in  Fig.  i. 

The 'elbows  should  be  held  closely  to  the  body,  and  the  wrist 
dropped  slightly  below  the  keys.  Being  thus  seated,  the  next  matter 
we  come  to  is  settling  the  position  of  the  hand  itself.  This  should 
be  as  follows :  The  fingers  should  fall  arched  upon  the  keys,  the 
knuckles  raised,  the  wrist  just  below  the  keyboard,  and  the  palm 
of  the  hand  forming  a  sort  of  cup  as  shown  on  this  page  (Fig.  2). 

It  is  a  very  good  plan  with  a  beginner,  to  make  him  take  an  apple 
or  a  ball  of  similar  size  in  the  palm  of  the  hand,  hold  it  lightly  with 
the  fingers  spread  out  round  it,  and  then  drop  it  out  of  the  palrn 
as  tiie  hand  descends  upon  the  keyboard.  The  hand  will  then  retain 
the  cup-like  position  with  the  fingers  spreatl  upon  the  keys.  (See 
Fig.   2.) 

Having  thus  described  what  I  consider  the  perfect  position  of 
the  hand,  I  will  now  proceed  to  explain  how  to  exercise  the  fingers 
in  order  to  retain  that  position,  and  make  it  become  a  haf)it.     This 


38  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

will  be  arrived  at  by  practising  in  the  following  manner:  Press  the 
fingers  down  well  arched  on  to  five  consecutive  white  notes,  and 
liold  iheni  down  altogether.  Then  lift  each  finger  in  turn,  holding 
the  others  down  meanwhile,  and  strike  the  key  with  the  lifted  finger, 
taking  great  care  all  the  time  that  the  hand  is  perfectly  supple  and 
relaxed,  and  that  nothing  is  stiflf.  This  exercise,  done  every  day 
for  five  miiuites  by  each  hand  separately,  will  soon  give  the  fingers 
and  hands  a  perfectly  easy  and  natural  position  upon  the  keyboard, 
and  preserve  the  cup  shape  of  the  palm  of  the  hand.  (See  Exercise 
No.  I  in  compendium  at  the  end  of  the  book.) 

A  CUP-LIKE   POSITION 

This  acquiring  of  the  cup-like  position  of  the  hand  will  be  found 
enormously  useful  later  on,  in  the  playing  of  scales  and  arpeggi,  as 
it  allows  easy  passage  of  the  thumb  under  the  other  fingers.  In  con- 
nection with  the  striking  of  the  keys  by  the  fingers,  I  would  further 
say  that  merely  putting  down  the  finger  and  letting  it  strike  with  its 
own  weight,  is  no  good,  as  the  sound  produced  thereby  is  inadequate 
and  uncontrolled. 

My  idea  is  that  when  lifted,  the  finger  must  be  brought  down 
with  a  certain  amount  of  pressure  upon  the  note  which  is  struck. 
This  pressure  should  be  produced  from  the  forearm  and  transmitted 
through  the  fingers  to  the  key,  the  wrist  being  all  the  time  absolutely 
relaxed.  Later  on,  as  the  student  arrives  at  a  higher  development 
of  finger  technique,  the  articulation  can  be  exercised  purely  from  the 
fingers,  but  in  the  beginning,  in  order  to  acquire  a  full  round  tone, 
the  control  must  be  taught  from  the  forearm  by  means  of  pressure 
from  that  part. 

Again,  above  all,  I  cannot  too  much  insist  upon  the  necessity 
for  relaxation  of  the  wrist,  and  the  rest  of  the  body,  for  in  it  con- 
sists, I  am  convinced,  half  the  secret  for  obtaining  an  easy  and  sure 
technique.  It  must  also  never  be  forgotten  that  as  the  piano  is  a 
purely  mechanical  instrument,  the  great  object  must  be  to  produce 
all  gradations  of  tone  without  the  sound  being  either  forced,  harsh 
or  stifif.  Moreover,  the  cardinal  principle  in  the  production  of  such 
tone  is  that  the  body,  and  especially  the  wrist,  remain  in  complete 
relaxation. 

Nothing  tends  so  much  to  hardness  of  tone  on  the  piano  as  any 
rigidity  in  any  part  of  the  body.  Also  to  obtain  this  most  precious 
quality  of  flexibility,  the  articulation  of  the  fingers  must  be  entirely 
generated  by  the  muscles  of  the  hand,  and  controlled,  as  I  have 
already  explained  as  regards  force,  by  the  forearm. 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  FOR  STUDY  39 

FINGER  CONTROL 

To  recapitulate  the  whole  matter  and  condense  it,  the  principle 
set  up  is  that  all  control  on  the  keyboard  should  be  established  by  the 
fingers,  the  hand  and  the  forearm,  the  wrist  remaining  entirely 
supple.  This,  in  my  opinion,  applies  to  all  finger  technique,  and 
is  essential  for  arriving  at  a  completely  successful  issue. 

Care  must  also  be  taken  not  to  allow  any  beating  of  time  by  the 
head  or  foot,  as  this  may  easily  degenerate  into  a  nervous  trick, 
and  certainly  tends  to  encourage  jerky  and  rigid  movements  of  the 
body.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  make  the  beginner,  after  each  exercise 
that  he  does,  lift  the  hand  off  the  keys  and  shake  it  gently  from  the 
wrist,  so  as  to  ensure  that  the  relaxation  is  preserved,  and  that 
there  is  no  excessive  effort  or  fatigue  of  the  muscles  or  any  cramped 
action  whatsoever.  I  do  not  believe  in  striving  to  lift  the  fingers 
too  high  off  the  keys  every  time  when  striking  each  note,  because, 
in  a  highly  complicated  mechanical  instrument  like  the  piano,  every 
movement  must  be  conserved  as  much  as  possible,  and  naturally  any 
extra  effort  only  tends  to  lose  time,  thereby  impairing  the  velocity 
in  fast  passages. 

Some  people  think  that  by  teaching  that  the  fingers  be  lifted 
very  high  they  can  get  a  clearer  and  more  distinct  articulation,  but 
I  do  not  agree  with  this,  as  I  have  always  found  from  my  own  ex- 
perience that  if  the  wrist  is  relaxed,  thus  allowing  absolute  freedom 
to  the  fingers,  they  will  articulate  just  as  distinctly,  and  with  much 
added  lightness  and  quality  of  tone,  if  not  lifted  too  high. 

The  most  important  elemental  stage  of  thus  holding  the  hands 
in  a  natural  supple  position,  having  been  well  initiated,  by  means 
such  as  I  have  just  been  trying  to  explain,  the  pupil  will  do  well  to 
proceed  with  five-finger  exercises  of  all  descriptions,  until  he  has 
thoroughly  mastered  the  position  in  question,  and  it  has  become  a 
second  nature  to  him  to  hold  his  hands  thus.  With  a  child  beginner 
of  from  six  to  ten,  after  a  month  of  i)ractising  for  not  more  than 
ten  minutes  a  day,  if  well  watched,  the  hands,  according  to  my  per- 
sonal experience,  should  be  absolutely  in  order.  The  Five-Fingcr 
Exercises  of  Hanon  are  excellent  in  this  respect  for  settling  the 
fingers  in  the  right  way,  and  also  will  keep  a  child  interested  in  the 
different  groups  of  notes  presented.  I  know  of  none  better  for  the 
purpose  of  elementary  practising. 

TECHNIQUE    IN    EXTENDED    POSITION 

We  must  pass  on  from  five-finger  exerci.ses  to  the  technique  of 
extended  positions  of  the  hand,  such  as  are  to  be  found  in  scales, 


40  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

arpeggi,  chords,  thirds  and  octaves.  I  propose  here  to  speak  of 
scales  and  arpeggi  only,  and  shall  first  say  a  word  or  two  about  scales, 
for  which  the  tive-finger  exercises  I  have  just  been  discussitig  are, 
of  course,  merely  a  preparation.  But  the  great  difficulty  of  scale 
playing,  which  consists  in  learning  how  to  pass  the  thumb  successfully 
under  the  other  fingers,  without  causing  a  break  in  the  continuity 
of  the  sound,  is  absent  in  five-finger  exercises,  though  through  them 
the  student  learns  the  right  way  of  holding  the  hand  on  the  keyboard, 
so  that  it  is  always  ready  to  do  its  work  when  called  upon  in  the 
scales,  and  also  the  fingers  are  trained  to  exert  the  necessary  pressure 
on  the  key. 

BETTER    SCALE    STUDY 

In  order  to  obtain  this  smooth  passage  of  the  thumb  in  scales,  I 
advise  that  the  wrist  always  be  kept  absolutely  loose,  and  that  in 
slow  practice,  when  the  thumb  is  ready  to  pass,  the  wrist  be  raised 
temporarily  from  its  usually  low  position  to  a  higher  one ;  also  the 
finger  which  strikes  the  last  note  before  the  thumb  has  to  pass  (in 
scales  it  is  always  the  3rd  or  4th  finger),  should  be  slightly  inclined 
towards  the  direction  in  which  the  hand  is  going  to  travel. 

Taking  the  ascending  scale  of  C  major,  in  the  right  hand,  for 
example,  and  illustrating  what  I  want  to  point  out  by  a  diagram  thus  : 

C.        D.        E.        F.        G.        A.        B.        C. 

(i).      2.         3.       (i).       2.        3.        4.       (i). 

Thumb.  Thumb.  Thumb. 

-^Ascending  right  hand. 

It  will  be  seen  that  upon  the  E,  which  is  struck  by  the  3rd  finger, 
the  line  underneath  is  raised  and  inclined  towards  the  direction  the 
hand  has  to  go,  so  as  to  represent  the  lifting  up  of  the  wrist,  and  the 
inclining  of  the  finger.  The  thumb  then  passes  easily  underneath 
the  fingers  on  to  the  next  note  F,  without  any  awkwardness.  The 
same  movement  is  repeated  further  up  the  scale  after  the  4th  finger, 
and  so  on  through  all  the  octaves  in  ascending  scales  for  the  right 
hand.  For  descending  scales,  the  process  is  reversed.  The  wrist  is 
raised  when  the  thumb  falls,  and  the  finger  which  follows  it  is  in- 
clined downwards  in  the  direction  the  hand  has  to  go. 

C.       B.       A.       G.       F.       E.       D.       C 

5.        4-         3-         2.        (i).     3.         2.        (I). 

Thumb.  Thumb. 

-^Descending  right  hand. 


ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES  FOR  STUDY  41 

In  the  left  hand  exactly  the  same  process  is  used  as  in  the  right, 
only  the  order  is  reversed,  that  is  to  say,  the  wrist  is  raised  at  the 
thumb,  in  the  ascending  scale,  and  at  the  3rd  or  4th  finger,  in  the 
descending  one,  the  inclining  position  of  the  fingers  being  corre- 
spondingly observed.  In  all  scales  in  every  tonality,  this  action  of 
the  wrist  and  fingers  should  be  similar,  and  the  principle  of  lifting 
the  wrist  at  the  finger  before  the  thumb  passes,  and  inclining  the 
finger  in  the  direction  the  hand  is  to  travel,  greatly  facilitates  this 
passage  of  the  thumb,  and  ensures  smoothness  and  freedom  of  mo- 
tion. In  fast  scales  this  movement  practically  disappears,  as  exag- 
gerated actions  only  impede  swiftness  and  look  ungainly,  but  a 
smooth  and  undulating  motion  remains,  which  is  elegant  and  imparts 
an  elastic  and  supple  articulation,  and  also  gives  character  to  the 
various  passages. 


Chapter  VI 

SOME  FURTHER  HINTS  HOW  TO  MASTER  THE 

KEYBOARD 

SCALES  CONTINUED  AND  ARPEGGI 

Even  Tone  is  another  most  difficult  object  to  strive  for  in  playing 
scales,  for  the  human  hand  is  physically  so  constituted  that  certain 
of  the  fingers  are  weaker  than  the  others,  namely,  the  4th  and  ^th 
are  the  weak  ones,  and  the  ist,  2nd  and  3rd  the  strong  ones.  From 
this  fact  ensues  the  natural  consequence  that  the  notes  struck  by 
the  1st,  2nd  and  3rd  fingers  are  liable  to  be  louder  and  firmer  in  tone 
than  those  upon  which  4th  and  5th  fall. 

This  weakness  can  only  be  corrected  by  pressure  from  the  fore- 
arm transmitted  to  the  fingers,  as  I  have  already  insisted  upon  when 
speaking  of  the  articulation  in  five-finger  exercises.  The  pressure 
is  here  used  as  an  equalizer,  in  this  fashion,  that  the  conscious  habit 
of  the  pressure  having  been  established  by  practice,  it  works  upon 
the  mind  and  forces  the  performer  unconsciously  to  give  an  extra 
compensative  pressure  to  the  weaker  fingers,  according  as  he  detects 
by  his  ear  that  they  require  it. 

This  equalizing  of  the  tone  by  pressure  serves  again  to  illustrate 
how  the  theory  of  its  administration  through  the  forearm,  working 
upon  the  fingers,  establishes  absolute  control  of  the  muscles,  not  so 
much  by  its  direct  action  on  the  fingers  as  by  its  indirect  stimulus  to 
the  mind,  which  through  it  becomes  conscious  that  it  has  work  to  do, 
and  is  alert  to  command  the  muscles  properly. 

Later  on  it  will  be  seen  how  vital  a  part  of  piano  technique  this 
control  of  the  i.iuscles  by  the  mind  is,  constituting,  as  it  does,  the 
principle  upon  which  is  based  the  imparting  of  light  and  shade, 
gradations  of  expression  and  tempo,  in  fact  the  life  which  changes 
the  sounds  of  the'  mechanical  instrument  into  music. 

Scales  should  be  played  every  day  and  in  all  tonalities.  Upon  the 
black  notes  the  fingers  may  be  slightly  extended,  as  it  will  be  found 
difficult  to  keep  them  quite  as  rounded  as  on  the  white  ones,  owing 
to  the  lack  of  space.    Finally,  it  is  important  in  practising  scales  that 

42 


FURTHER  HINTS  HOW  TO  MASTER  THE  KEYBOARD      43 

they  should  be  played  absolutely  ct)rrectly,  therefore  it  is  always  best 
to  practise  each  hand  separately. 

ARPEGGI 

In  some  ways  smoothness  is  even  more  difficult  to  master  in 
arpeggi  than  in  scales,  as  in  them  the  intervals  necessitate  wide 
jumps,  which  have  to  be  negotiated.  I  will  take  the  arpeggio  in 
the  common  chord  of  C  major  in  the  right  hand,  to  illustrate  first 
the  method  which  Lhave  found  very  successful  with  students. 


Right  hand  ascending.  — > 
C.         E.         G.         C. 

(I).          2.            3.             (I). 
Thumb.                                       Thumb. 

E. 

G. 

/ 
3- 

C. 

2. 

(I). 

Thumb 

The  idea  is  the  same  as  in  the  scale.  The  problem  which  presents 
itself  is  how  to  smooth  over  the  jump  between  G  and  C.  On  the 
accompanying  diagram  I  attempt  to  show,  by  the  small  lines  under- 


FlG.  3.     Showing  the  3rd  finger  placed  with  raised  wrist 
for  passage  of   thumb. 


neath  the  notes,  how  the  finger  which  falls  just  before  the  thumb 
(in  this  case  it  is  the  3rd,  on  G)  is  raised  from  the  wrist  and  inclined 
towards  the  direction  to  which  the  hand  has  to  proceed. 

This  3rd  finger  should  be  placed  upon  the  note  exactly  one  and 
three-quarter  inches  length  away  from  the  edge  of  the  key  towards 


44, 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


the  back  of  the  keyboard,  and  the  thumb  should  fall  underneath  it 
upon  C,  just  the  length  of  its  own  nail  away  from  the  key  edge,  that 
is  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch.    Thus: 


aHUMB) 


(THUMB) 


Fig.  4.     Arpeggio.     C  major.    Right  hand  ascending, 
showing  relative  positions  of  the  thumb  and  finger. 

Coming  down  the  position  is  reversed,  as  follows :  The  thumb 
falls  upon  the  note  at  the  one  and  three-quarter-inch  position  from 
the  edge  of  the  key,  when  it  is  lifted  up  by  the  wrist  movement,  and 
the  3rd  or  4th  finger,  as  the  case  may  be,  then  falls  over  the  thumb 
on  to  the  note  below,  about  one-quarter  inch  from  the  edge  of  the 
key.    Thus : 


Fig.  5.  Arpeggio.  C  major.  Right  hand  descending 
(starting  from  right  of  diagram),  beginning  with  2nd 
finger  on  E,  so  as  to  show  relative  position  of  the 
fingers  used. 

The  movement  of  the  wrist  makes  for  smoothness  at  the  jump 
and  helps  to  prepare  the  hand  for  the  next  position.     The  principle 

*  Arrows  show  direction. 


FURTHER  HINTS  HOW  TO  MASTER  THE  KEYBOARD      45 

is  similar  in  both  hands  as  in  the  scales,  only  reversed  in  the  left; 
that  is  to  say,  when  the  left  hand  ascends  the  thumb  is  lifted  by  the 
wrist  and  placed  one  and  a  quarter  inches  from  the  end  of  the  key, 
w^hile  going  down  it  is  the  3rd  or  4th  finger  which  assumes  that 
position,  the  thumb  falling  on  the  key  at  the  quarter  inch  from  the 
end  of  the  key,  as  in  the  ascending  right  hand  arpeggio. 


Fig.  6.  Arpeggio.  C  major.  Left  hand  ascending 
(starting  from  left  of  diagram),  beginning  with  the 
thumb  on  C,  so  as  to  show  the  relative  positions  of 
the  other  fingers. 


Fic.  7.  Arpeggio.  C  major.  Left  hand  descending 
(starting  from  right  of  diagram),  beginning  with  the 
4th  fmgcr  on  E,  so  as  to  show  the  relative  position  of 
the  fingers  used. 

Exactly  the  same  rules  apply  in  all  the  varieties  of  arpeggio 
playing. 

It  is  absolutely  imjK-rative  for  students  who  wish  to  acquire  any 
proficiency  in  pianoforte  playing  to  practise  a  good  amount  of  scales 
and  arpeggi  every  day  as  given  at  the  end  of  this  book,  for  these 

*  Arrows  show  direction. 


46  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

difficulties  are  the  A  B  C  of  the  piano,  without  which  no  one  can 
get  on.  Therefore,  he  ivho  starts  his  work  regularly  and  thoroughly 
ever}'  morning  with  a  course  of  scales  and  arpeggi  will  gradually 
find  a  fine  easy  technique  coming  to  him  and  a  mastery  over  the 
keyboard  which  will  be  of  inestimable  advantage  to  him  when  he 
starts  investigating  the  treasure  house  of  pianoforte  literature. 


Chapter  VII 

ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:    THIRDS,  SIXTHS  AND 

OCTAVES 

I  PROPOSE  here  to  discuss  briefly  the  higher  or  advanced  technique 
of  pianoforte  playing  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  study  of  Thirds,  Sixths 
and  Octaves.  Of  course  this  is  really  a  highly  complicated  subject 
about  which  innumerable  books  and  treatises  have  been  written  with- 
out nearly  exhausting  all  the  material  for  discussion  to  which  it 
gives  rise.  But  the  few  remarks  that  I  am  going  to  make  now  are 
chiefly  intended  for  the  practical  help  of  working  students,  and  I 
shall  confine  myself  more  or  less  to  explaining  one  or  two  of  the 
methods  which  I  personally  find  useful  in  mastering  the  difficulties 
that  occur  in  these  complex  stages  of  virtuosity.  For  as  modem 
pianoforte  technique  requires  great  development  of  double  note  play- 
ing and  such-like  independence  of  the  fingers,  so  it  must  be  the  aim 
of  every  student  to  discover  the  easiest  and  shortest  cuts  which  may 
bring  him  to  proficiency  in  this  branch  of  his  art. 

A    MELODIC    OUTLINE 

To  commence  then  with  the  study  of  passages  in  thirds: — A 
great  many  people  seek  to  play  these  in  what  I  term  a  "player- 
pianistic  style"  instead  of  a  "pianistically  plastic"  one.  By  this  I 
mean  that  they  make  a  point  of  striking  both  the  notes  that  compose 
thirds  together  with  exactly  the  same  pressure  of  tone,  thus  giving 
no  doubt  an  absolutely  mechanical  precision  to  double  note  progres- 
sions, but  thereby  taking  away  from  them,  in  my  opinion,  all  their 
melodic  character  and  charm.  For  I  maintain  that  all  passage  playing, 
whether  it  be  in  thirds,  sixths,  or  single  notes,  should  necessarily 
preserve  a  melodic  outline,  otherwise  it  degenerates  into  mere 
sequences  of  notes  for  the  display  of  agility  and  loses  every  musical 
significance. 

For  whereas  some  regard  elaborate  passages  as  entirely  mechani- 
cal embellishments,  the  earnest  musician  will  realize  that  this  is  not 
often  the  case;  on  the  contrary,  close  analysis  will  almost  always 
prove  them  to  be  intricate  and  reasoned  embroideries  of  melody. 

47 


48  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

Now  in  sinj]^le  note  passaj^es  it  is  easy  to  obtain  some  sort  of 
musical  contour,  because  tbe  l)rain  bas  only  one  line  to  develop.  But 
witb  double  notes  tbis  is  all  far  more  complicated,  especially  as  the 
melodic  ideal  remains  to  be  acbieved  bere,  just  as  mucb  as  in  the 
simpler  case.  And  bard  enoujj^b  as  it  is  to  accomplish  satisfactory 
results  with  only  one  fin^^^er  to  think  of,  what  is  to  be  done  when 
two  are  having  to  be  managed  at  once  ? 

USE   MENT.M-   CONCENTRATION 

Well,  I  will  start  from  the  first  third  in  the  scale  of  C  major, 
which  will  be  C  and  E.  Next  come  D  and  F,  and  in  attempting  to 
pass  rapidly  from  the  first  tliird  to  the  second  one  a  difficulty  will 
be  immediately  encountered.  This  is  the  ungovernable  tendency  of 
each  finger  to  run  apart  from  each  other,  and  refuse  to  pull  together 
at  all,  A  purely  mental  difficulty  though  is  tbis,  and  it  can  be  over- 
come by  training  the  mind,  and  accustoming  it  to  govern  the  hands 
and  fingers  in  complete  independence  one  of  the  other.  In  fact  I  am 
convinced  that  in  general,  technical  facility  and  control  can  only 
be  obtained  by  great  mental  concentration,  and  not  merely  through 
mechanical  practice. 

That  is  why  some  people  are  able  to  learn  to  play  a  scale  in  thirds 
in  an  hour  quite  decently,  because  they  possess  the  necessary  power 
of  brain,  while  others  who  may  have  quite  as  much  musical  talent 
will  never  master  one  at  .all  though  they  work  six  hours  a  day  at  it! 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  by  this  that  thirds  do  not  require  an  enormous 
amount  of  study,  because  of  course  they  do,  only  to  be  successful 
the  practice  must  be  accompanied  by  much  concentrated  brain  effort. 
Therefore  one  of  the  principal  efforts  of  a  good  pianoforte  teacher 
should  be  to  stimulate  in  ever>'  possible  manner  the  mental  faculties 
of  his  pupils. 

Thirds  should  be  worked  with  pressure  of  the  finger  on  the  top 
note,  that  is  to  say.  in  the  third  of  C  and  E  the  pressure  should  be 
on  the  E,  in  the  third  of  D  and  F  on  the  F,  and  so  on  up  the  scale. 
(See  Fig.  9.)  In  continuing  the  scale,  after  having  struck  C,  with 
the  1st  finger  or  thumb  (taking  the  right  hand  ascending),  the 
finger  is  raised  and  D  is  approached  with  the  2nd  finger.  The  ist 
finger  on  the  C  is  taken  oflF  very  abruptly,  almost  as  if  it  was  on  a 
spring  hinge,  whilst  the  top  note  E  is  held  by  the  3rd  finger,  which 
becomes  slightly  stiffened  and  is  kept  down  after  the  lower  one  has 
been  raised.     (See  Figs.  10  and  11.)     The  bottom  note  of  the  third 


ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:  THIRDS,  SIXTHS,  OCTAVES      49 

might  almost  be  ^  of  the  value  of  the  top  note  by  the  way  it  should 
be  released,  practically  equivalent  to  the  following  example : 


W^^ 


Fig.  8.    Example  to  show  holding  on  of  top  note  in  Third  Scales  after 
lower  note  has   been   released. 


though  it  will  not  be  distinguishable  in  the  sound  of  the  rhythm. 
This  method  is,  of  course,  only  for  slow  practice;  the  action  will 
disappear  in  fast  tempi,  but  what  will  remain  is  a  clearness  of  outline 
on  the  upf>er  notes  of  the  thirds,  which  is  the  object  to  be  achieved. 
The  wrist  should  be  held  higher  than  in  ordinary  scales,  where  it 
is  kept  low,  except  at  the  passage  of  the  thumb.    But  by  holding  the 


Fig.  9.     Position  of  hand  upon  commencement  of  Third 

Scales. 


wrist  somewhat  elevated  in  third  scales,  it  ensues  that  the  pressure 
of  the  top  fingers  is  accentuated. 

Although  it  be  held  higher  than  in  single  note  scales,  the  wrist 
must  still  be  kept  absolutely  relaxed,  and  the  pressure  must  be 
obtained  through  the  forearm  acting  direct  upon  tlir  fingers.  When 
the  5th  fmger  is  arrived  at,  it  should  be  placed  on  the  key  on  the 


50 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


side  or  ball  of  the  finder,  the  wrist  being  meanwhile  raised  even  a 
little  more,  and  the  hand  inclined  in  the  direction  upwards  to  which 
it  is  proceeding.     (See  Fig.  12.) 

Desceiuling,  a  similar  inclined  position  is  taken  by  the  thumb. 
(See  Fig.   13.) 

In  the  left  hand  it  is  the  thumb  in  the  ascending  scale,  and  the 
5th  finger  in  the  descending  one  which  assumes  the  position. 


Fig.  10.  Position  showing  the  raising  of  the  lower 
finger  whilst  the  upper  one  is  slightly  stiffened  and 
held  on. 


At  the  end  of  this  chapter  on  page  60  I  give  what  I  find  the  best 
fingering  to  be  used  for  simple  third  scales,  and  also  for  chromatic 
scales  in  thirds. 

PRACTISING  SCALES  IN  SIXTHS 


Passages  in  sixths  are  extremely  complicated  and  are  rarely  to 
be  met  with,  as  they  necessitate  so  much  extension  of  the  hand, 
and  it  is  consequently  difficult  to  play  them  legato  at  all.  The  general 
principle  for  playing  sixths  is  the  same  as  that  for  thirds,  but  it  is 
not  advisable  to  practise  them  a  great  deal,,  because  the  continued 
extension  of  the  position  may  prove  injurious  to  the  hand,  and 
strain  or  cramp  can  result. 


ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:  THIRDS,  SIXTHS,  OCTAVES 


51 


Fig.  II.  Position  of 
hand  in  Third  Scale 
after  the  progres- 
sion from  the  ist 
Third  to  the  next 
one  has  been  ac- 
complished. 


Fig.  12.  Right  hand  ascend- 
ing assumes  the  above  in- 
clined position  in  passing 
from  the  5th  and  3rd  fin- 
gers to  the  3rd  and   ist. 


Fig  13.  RiRht  hand  descending,  showing  inclined  position 
of  the  hand  wlicn  passing  down  from  the  thumb  and  ird 
fingers  to  the  5th  and  3rd. 


St 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


THE   PRACTICE   OF   OCTAVES 

I  now  come  to  Octave  Technique  for  which  every  sort  of  studies 
have  been  and  continue  to  be  written.  Now  the  real  octave  wrist, 
combining  great  strength  with  high  nervous  tension  and  suppleness, 
is  a  gift  of  nature,  like  the  capacity  for  playing  staccato  bowing  on 
the  violin.  But  those  who  do  not  possess  the  power  can  develop  it 
to  a  limited  extent.  There  are  several  methods  of  playing  octaves, 
one  being  with  a  loose  wrist  and  the  5th  finger  slightly  stiffened. 
This  is  a  good  way  for  octaves  in  a  slow  tempo,  but  when  speed  is 
required  it  can  only  be  secured  by  nervous  contraction  of  the  arm, 
the  wrist  being  kept  stiff  meanwhile.  To  accomplish  this  needs 
much  muscular  strength,  as  the  advantage  of  the  loose  wrist  has  to 
be  discarded,  and  whenever  the  rapidity  of  the  tempo  intreases,  the 
stiffening  of  the  wrist  must  increase  also. 

As  far  as  the  practice  of  octaves  go,  I  do  not  think  merely  play- 
ing them  in  scales  is  efficacious,  and,  as  I  have  already  said,  there 
are  so  many  studies  devised  on  this  most  difficult  branch  of  piano 
technique  that  it  is  best  to  work  with  them.  Those  of  Kullak  are, 
I  find,  especially  excellent.  It  is  very  unwise  ever  to  work  at  octave 
playing  for  more  than  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  as  it  is  so  fatiguing 
and  may  injure  the  arm  if  overdone.  But  there  are  ways  of  helping 
oneself  to  relieve  exhaustion  during  long  sequences  of  octaves. 
Some  of  these  devices  are  useful  for  all,  though  generally  each 
player  finds  out  means  for  himself  according  to  the  structure  of  his 
own  particular  muscles. 

To  illustrate  what  I  mean  by  these  helps  against  fatigue,  I  will 
give  an  example  from  the  A  flat  Polonaise  of  Chopin.  The  great 
octave  passage  in  the  second  part  for  the  left  hand  lasts  34  bars, 
which  is  a  tremendous  length,  as  all  pianists  know,  and  the  strain 
may  become  almost  unbearable. 


Fig.  14.     Extract  from  the  A  flat  Polonaise  of  Chopin,  showing  Octave  passage 

in  left  hand,  which  lasts  34  bars. 


ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:  THIRDS,  SIXTH^  OCTAVES      53 

Here  it  is  a  considerable  relief  to  think  of  the  passage  as  in  a 
semi-circular  motion  from  left  to  right.     Thus : 


(m 


i 


e 


Fig.  15.     Diagram  illustrating  the  mental  device  of  placing  each  group  of 
four  Octaves  as  component  parts  of  half  a  circle. 

Again,  in  the  enormously  difficult  octave  passage  for  the  right 
hand  in  the  Sixth  Rhapsody  of  Liszt,  it  will  be  found  to  be  of  assist- 
ance to  keep  changing  the  position  of  the  wrist  from  being  high 
to  becoming  low.     Thus  : 


Fig.  16.     First  position  of  hand  with  wrist  held  hi^;h  in 
Octave  playing. 

This  very  small  action  of  the  wrist  gives  respite  for  a  second 
from  the  tension,  and  sets  the  momentum  of  the  nervous  contraction 
going  again.  (See  Fig.  17.)  This  same  movement  can  apply  to 
most  continuous  octave  sequences  of  any  length,  provided  they  are 


54 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE   PIANO 


in  scale-like  progressions,  or  in  the  form  of  reiteration.  But  for 
octaves  which  move  in  arpeggi.  this  same  action  would  not  answer, 
because  here  the  mind  has  to  be  occupied  with  the  matter  of  judging 


Fig.  17.     Second  position  of  hand  in  Octave  playing, 
with  wrist  held  low  to  give  relief  from  fatigue. 

tlie  distances,  or  I  should  rather  say,  feeling  them.  For  all  jurnps 
are  very  uncertain  quantities,  and  no  eye  judgment  can  be  possible 
where  a  high  rate  of  speed  has  to  be  obtained.  Therefore  in 
arpeggio-like  octave  passages  only  a  mental  device  will  be  of  any 


^v****i  ^ 


^:^ 


Fig.  18.    Extract  from  "Hungarian  Fantasie"  of  Liszt,  showing  difficult 

Octave  passages. 

The  lower  bridging  lines  indicate  the  mental  measurement  of  the  Octave  passages 
in  Triplets.  The  upper  lines  indicate  the  2/4  time  in  which  the  sound  of  the 
rhythm  must  proceed  undisturbed. 

help  in  the  difficulty.  This  contrivance  is  to  imagine  the  octaves 
in  groups  of  threes  in  the  mind,  no  matter  what  the  rhythm  is  in 
which  they  are  written.  I  take  an  example  out  of  the  Hungarian 
Fantasie  of  Liszt  for  piano  and  orchestra  to  show  the  idea. 


ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:  THIRDS,  SIXTHS,  OCTAVES      55 

It  must  always  be  remembered,  of  course,  that  the  device  is  only 
a  creation  of  the  imagination  and  must  in  no  wise  be  allowed  to 
become  evident  or  interfere  with  the  proper  rhythm.  But  as  a 
mental  measurement  it  will  always  facilitate  the  negotiating  of  rapid 
jumps  correctly  and  continuously.  The  last  passage  in  the  Concerto 
in  C  minor  of  Saint-Saens  for  piano  and  orchestra,  also  serves  to 
illustrate  the  method  of  reducing  the  difficulty  by  this  calculation  of 
the  mind.     (See  Fig.  19.) 


^^  W 


Fig.  19.  Passage  from  C  minor  Concerto  of  Saint-Saens  to  illustrate  the  mental 
device  of  considering  the  Octaves  in  groups  of  threes,  as  indicated  by  the  lines 
below,  though  the  sound  of  the  rhythm  must  remain  in  3/4  time. 


Still  more  hard  than  so-called  simple  octave  technique  is  that 
where  intermediate  notes  between  the  octaves  have  to  be  struck 
together  with  them,  as  in  successive  progression  of  rapid  chords, 
such  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  opening  cadenza  of  Liszt's  E  flat 
Concerto.  (See  Fig.  23,  p.  57.)  This  starts  with  a  tremendous 
sequence  of  grand  chords  in  C  major,  which  is  extremely  difficult 
to  play  accurately,  and  can  only  be  mastered  by  unceasing  practice. 
In  such  a  passage  the  wrist  should  be  kept  loose  and  the  intermediate 
notes  (in  the  chord  of  C  major  it  is  the  second  finger  on  G)  should 
be  struck  with  rather  a  stiff  finger,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  ix)int  of 
support,  the  thumb  and  5th  fingers,  however,  falling  loosely  on  the 


56 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


two  octave  notes,  C  and  Octave  C.     The  hand  should  be  arched  ana 
form  a  cup-hke  position.     Thus : 


Fia  20.     Showing  position  of  hand  when  playing 
Octaves  with  intermediate  notes. 

The  stiffening  of  the  intermediate  finger  must  be  very  sUght 
and  almost  imperceptible ;  in  fact,  here  again  it  should  be  little  more 
than  a  mental  impression.  I  give  the  fingering  which  I  use  in  the 
afore-mentioned  passage  in  chords  out'  of  the  Liszt  concerto,  in 
the  hoi)e  that  it  may  help  some  who  may  be  struggling  with  that 
particular  cadenza.     (See  Fig.  23,  p.  57.) 

For  very  rapid  octave  scales  with  intermediate  notes,  it  is  of 
assistance,  instead  of  striking  the  middle  note  with  the  finger  in  its 
natural  position,  which  interferes  here  with  speed,  to  strike  it  upon 
the  key  with  the  first  phalange  joint  of  the  finger,  as  in  the  following 
passage  out  of  Saint-Saens'  C  minor  Concerto.    Thus : 


Fig.  21.     Showing  intermediate  note  taken  with  phalange 
joint  to  help  speed. 


ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:  THIRDS,  SIXTHS,  OCTAVES      57 


Fig.  22.     Extract  from  Saint-Saens'  C  minor  Concerto. 

The  above  is  a  passage  where  the  intermediate  notes  between  the  Octaves  can  be 
struck  with  the  whole  of  the  first  phalange  joint  of  the  finger  instead  of  with 
the  tip  of  the  finger  simply.  This  is  a  device  for  facilitating  speed,  and  can 
only  be  used  in  the  right  hand. 

But  this  last  is  a  technical  hint  for  helping  rapidity,  to  be  used 
only  by  those  who  have  already  reached  a  considerable  stage  of  vir- 
tuosity and  also  possess  a  wide  stretch  of  the  hand,  and  it  should  in 
no  case  be  adopted  by  the  student  even  of  advanced  technique!  I 
merely  mention  it  as  a  curious  instance  of  the  little  ingenuities  that 
can  make  the  greatest  difficulties  become  possible. 

What  are  termed  broken  octaves  are  also  continually  to  be  met 
with,  especially  in  adaptations  of  pieces  from  orchestral  scores  and 
in  the  works  of  Beethoven  and  Mozart.  These  have  to  be  played 
with  great  skill  if  they  are  to  sound  really  well  and  make  a  good 


Cpdcnra  Grand  io*o 

5 


Fk;.  23.     Extract  from  Liszt's  Concerto  in  K  flat,  showing  fingering  of 

opening  Cadenza. 


58  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

effect,  therefore  they  imist  be  jiatieiitly  studied.  For  practising];  them 
I  advise  iisin^  the  ist  and  5th  rin«:;ers  with  eciiud  strength,  tiie  wrist 
beinj:;  kept  stiff  and  the  hand  oscillatinjj;  to  and  fro  as  if  it  and 
the  fingers  were  made  of  one  piece  with  the  forearm.  There  are 
excellent  studies  for  the  development  of  broken  octave  technique  in 
Czerny's  "Kunstfertigkeit." 

INDIVIDUAL  CHORD  PLAYING 

And  now  for  a  few  words  about  individual  chord  playing,  as  it 
is  so  important  to  discover  the  right  way  to  produce  a  fine  and  noble 
sound  when  striking  these.  The  first  essential  here  is  to  find  how 
to  obtain  strength  without  hardness  of  touch.  Strength  there  must 
be,  of  course,  tempered  by  judgment,  for  without  it  the  pianist  will 
be  unable  to  give  out  enough  and  graduating  increase  of  tone  when 
necessary.  For  especially  in  a  dramatic  piece  where  one  often  meets 
with  an  ever-growing  crescendo  of  tone  culminating  upon  a  given 
point,  if  the  performer  lacks  accumulative  force  he  cannot  achieve 
this  effect,  and  so  the  piece  may  end  in  an  anti-climax  and  the  whole 
artistic  meaning  of  the  work  be  missed. 

Now  one  way  to  produce  strength  of  tone  is  to  throw  the  hands 
down  on  the  chords  by  lifting  them  high  above  the  keys  before 
striking.  I  do  not  advocate  this,  as  it  is  so  uncertain,  and  disaster 
may  easily  overtake  the  player  at  any  moment  by  his  falling  upon  the 
wrong  notes.  For  it  needs  great  precision  of  eye  to  strike  many 
notes  together  correctly  from  a  height. 

How,  then,  can  extra  force  be  applied  without  sacrificing  the 
accuracy  of  notes  or  the  tone  quality?  With  abrupt  chords  I  find 
the  following  method  efficacious,  namely,  a  quick  contraction  of  the 
forearm,  accompanied  by  an  action  of  the  fingers,  as  though  they 
were  trying  to  dig  themselves  into  the  keys. 

For  final  chords  at  the  end  of  a  great  passage,  the  same  digging 
of  the  fingers  and  contraction  of  the  forearm  should  be  supplemented 
by  a  motion  of  the  hand  turning  round  upon  the  notes  with  a  sort 
of  jerk,  as  if  it  was  trying  to  lock  or  unlock  a  key  in  a  door.  The 
fingers  at  the  same  time  having  finished  th'Mr  digging  action  should 
contract  slightly  tow^ards  the  palm  of  the  hand.  Passages  ending 
with  a  single  note  that  has  to  be  struck  with  great  power  or  vehe- 
mence can  also  be  manipulated  by  this  same  action  of  the  hand, 
which  I  call  the  "lock-the-door  motion."  It  is  most  effective  in 
adding  extra  strength  when  necessary,  and  even  in  pianissi^no 
chords,  where  distinctive  accent  is  required,  it  will  be  found  to  apply 
successfully,  though  with  these,  of  course,   the  turning  and  con- 


ADVANCED  TECHNIQUE:  THIRDS,  SIXTHS,  OCTAVES      59 

traction  of  the  hand  will  only  amount  to  a  slight  pressure  abruptly 
administered. 

In  general,  I  advise  that  with  all  chord  playing,  whether  in 
abrupt  individual  cases  or  in  successions  of  legato  chords,  the 
strength  and  volume  of  tone  should  be  produced  by  concentrated 
pressure  from  the  forearm.  For  thereby  will  the  pianist  draw  from 
his  instrument  a  deep  and  resonant  sound,  and  avoid  hard  blows 
that  recall  the  wood  and  iron  elements  of  its  constitution  which  it 
should  ahvays  be  his  first  aim  to  make  his  audience  forget. 

See  Tables  of  Scales  in  Thirds  on  next  page. 


60 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIAxNO 


SCALES  IN  THIRDS  WITH  FINGERINGS  MARKED 


J,  A   'JU9 


^33 


m^^}fu 


X^'.i'i  i^v  "  ^  ^'  ?-.>?:.  3-,i'3:^3:ti:^'5'',',.T 


CHROMATIC  THIRDS 


^j<^A-,.  .  ^  5  HJ?    -iUj  ml;  or.'  I?j/'  /Xi_j 


^ 


ViAysl  '',{1 


i^ 


i 


tie-fh  /fc^^U 


■■¥       -^     ti 


m 


ti 


u         3 


^ 


S 


fe 


ifofmmtT'     .      7   3 — "I         /I        II        —^  ■      1         (1/1        I , <       / 


T,i\i>i\^i  *hiv\i\ik 


MiUJtiiJ  r.ls 


i 


^^HWTr,. 


^'»»i/,\' 


S#MSJ 


»c..     J    i     i  '5     ' 


p 


i 


?W^^ 


I 


Chapter  VIII 

ON  FINGERING  AND  MEMORY 

Correct  fingering  is  a  very  essential  part  of  piano  playing,  for  it 
not  only  conduces  to  an  easy  supple  technique  and  to  the  proper  per- 
formance of  the  music,  but  it  also  assists  in  giving  light  and  shade  to 
passages. 

This  is  because  some  of  the  fingers  are  stronger  by  nature,  and 
some  are  weaker,  and  by  using  them  according  to  their  different 
strength  when  required,  a  certain  natural  gradation  of  tones  is 
thereby  generated. 

In  the  early  days  of  pianoforte  playing  it  was  considered  wrong 
to  use  the  thumb  or  the  5th  finger  at  all  upon  the  keyboard,  and 
later  when  these  two  were  admitted  it  was  still  forbidden  by  teachers 
to  take  a  black  key  with  the  thumb,  and  this  even  until  quite  a  short 
time  ago. 

The  reason  that  the  use  of  the  thumb  was  thus  limited  was  partly 
due  to  the  fact  of  its  working  rather  awkwardly  on  the  black  notes 
owing  to  its  construction.  But  the  main  objection  to  it  really  was 
that  it  was  impossible  to  get  a  legato  tone  on  the  black  keys  if  the 
thumb  was  employed.  This  would  be  so  still  if  it  were  not  for  the 
help  of  the  pedal;  but  until  recently  the  pedal  had  not  reached  the 
perfection  of  mechanism  which  it  now  enjoys,  and  was  consequently 
not  applied  so  much.  At  any  rate  people  did  not  think  of  using  it  to 
facilitate  the  free  employment  of  the  thumb.  Nowadays,  of  course, 
even  jumps  can  be  bound  over  by  the  skilful  application  of  the  pedal, 
and  a  smooth,  flowing,  continuity  of  tone  can  be  obtained  in  the  most 
awkward  passages. 

NATURAL  TECHNIQUE 

Pianoforte  technique  might  almost  be  said  to  be  divided  into  two 
schools. 

The  one  seems  as  if  it  were  exactly  adapted  to  suit  the  peculiar 
powers  of  the  instrument,  and  is  that  which,  having  been  greatly 
modernized  by  Choj)in,  culminated  in  the  genius  of  Liszt.  The 
passage  writing  of  both  these  j)rc-emincnt  composers  for  the  piano 
are  unsurpassed  as  pure  pianoforte  technique  both  as  regards  ex- 
pression, effectiveness  and  brilliancy. 


62  now  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

The  other  school,  on  the  contrary,  could  almost  be  described  as 
having  developed  on  lines  antagonistic  to  the  piano's  natural  limita- 
tions and  even  to  those  of  the  human  hand.  Some  of  the  finest 
pianoforte  works,  however,  are  to  be  found  in  this  category,  two  of 
its  greatest  representatives  being  Schumann  and  Brahms.  ( It  nmst 
be  remembered  that  I  am  speaking  here  entirely  from  the  point  of 
view  of  purely  mechanical  technique,  and  not  considering  the  musi- 
cal side  of  the  question  at  all.) 

This  is  why  many  of  the  pianoforte  compositions  of  Schumann, 
and  especially  also  of  Brahms,  are  so  terribly  difficuk;  to  master. 
Brahms  never  seemed  to  stop  to  consider  much  about  the  limitations 
of  the  instrument  he  was  writing  for,  but  let  his  imagination  and 
creative  faculty  develop  unhindered,  and  undeterred,  by  questions 
of  technical  unsuitability.  Thus  some  of  his  most  beautiful  passages 
are  written  almost  in  defiance  of  the  natural  technique  of  the  piano, 
so  that  the  pianist,  in  order  to  arrive  at  investing  them  with  their  full 
significance  and  effect,  would  often  be  glad  of  twenty  fingers  to  play 
them  with  instead  of  the  mere  ten  which  he  possesses! 

In  this  kind  of  music,  tending  as  it  does  more  towards  orchestral 
efifects  than  to  purely  pianistic  ones,  the  player  must  often  resort  to 
fingering  that  at  first  seems  against  all  reason,  to  obtain  the  mastery 
over  the  difficulties.  For  though  in  general  in  all  piano  playing  the 
principle  should  be  firmly  established  that  the  hand  must  look  natural 
and  elegant  to  the  eye  upon  the  keyboard,  yet  here  that  rule  must  be 
thrown  overboard,  in  order  to  preserve  the  necessary  expression  and 
plasticity. 

MY   METHOD 

There  are  countless  methods  of  fingering,  and  most  pianists  dis- 
cover for  themselves  certain  particular  combinations  to  specially 
fit  their  own  hands. 

My  method  is  to  finger  any  given  passage  by  starting  with  the 
thumb  on  the  first  note  of  the  passage,  irrespective  of  whether  any 
of  the  notes  are  black  or  white  keys.  I  then  use  up  the  fingers,  that 
is  to  say,  2,  3,  4,  5,  as  they  naturally  fall  within  the  contour  of  the 
passage.  But  as  the  passage  deploys  under  the  hand,  I  substitute 
the  strongest  for  the  weakest  fingers  upon  the  notes  which  those 
weak  ones  would  take  in  the  ordinary  course  of  succession.  The 
strongest  fingers  should  be  selected  on  the  strong  beats  of  a  passage, 
and  the  weaker  ones  on  the  weak  beats,  thus  producing  natural  light 
and  shade.  The  strong  fingers  are  the  ist,  2nd  and  3rd;  the  weakest 
of  them  all  is  the  4th,  the  5th  being  somewhat  stronger  than  the  4th. 
If  by  natural  sequence  it  becomes  advisable  to  take  the  4th  finger  it 


ON  FINGERING  AND  MEMORY 


63 


should  be  preceded  wherever  possible  by  the  ist  or  2nd  finger,  as 
this  arrangement  will  enable  it  to  strike  with  more  power.     Thus : 


3    I    U^^    i 


^1 


X3L 


^e 


J  '    3  X 


Fig.  24.     Extract  from  Chopin's  Ballade  in  A  flat  showing  substitution  of  strong 

for  weak  fingers. 

The  fingering  above  is  as  usually  played  without  substitution  of  strong  for  weak 
fingers.  Lower  fingering  eliminates  the  4th  finger  completely,  thus  substituting 
the  strong  for  the  weaker. 

In  passages  where  there  are  big  intervals  between  the  successive 
notes,  I  use  whichever  fingers  fall  easiest  within  the  radius  of  each 
gap. 


Fig.  25.     Concerto  in  D  minor  of  Rubinstein. 

It  is  not  always  possible  to  start  a  passage  with  the  1st  finger,  on 
account  of  what  has  gone  before,  but  when  this  is  the  case  the  next 
best  finger  can  he  employed,  and  can  be  ])roceeded  frcjm  ui)()n  the 
same  basis,  using  up  the  fingers  that  come  nearest  to  the  starting 
finger. 


6i 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


I  make  no  distinction  between  tlie  white  and  black  keys  what- 
ever, but  employ  the  linjj^ers  alike  on  both  kinds  of  notes. 

To  iihistrate  the  usinj:^  of  the  thumb  upon  the  black  keys  I  give 
here  an  example  from  Rubinstein's  Concerto  in  D  minor.  (See 
Fig-  -'5) 

Now  as  to  ///('  fingering  of  trills,  some  pianists  play  these  by 
using  the  two  fingers  next  to  each  other  in  succession ;  but  I  find  that 
the  better  way  is  to  employ  the  ist  and  3rd  together  in  trilling,  or 
the  2nd  and  4th,  or  3rd  and  5th,  as  the  case  may  present  itself,  as  in 
the  example  given  below.     (See  Fig.  26.) 


-2E 


5i 


J* 


IkenL  t-i^    tl    t-ii(t    tt*   ht[<n^ 


Fig.  26.     The  Fingering  of  Trills, 


Nu/    CITvJ^ 


This  mode  of  fingering  trills  gives  velocity  and  smoothness  with 
the  minimum  of  effort.  There  are  pianists  who  change  the  fingers 
frequently  while  trilling,  as  in  the  example  given  in  Fig.  27,  page  52. 
But  I  do  not  find  that  this  repeated  moving  of  fingers  produces  either 
smoothness  or  extra  rapidity,  in  fact  I  do  not  advocate  its  use,  and 
in  any  case  it  would  not  be  possible  where  the  trill  lay  between  a  black 
and  a  white  key. 


Fig.  27.     Frequent  changes  of  fingers  during  trills  which  I  do  not 

advocate. 


When  practising  trills,  it  is  best  to  start  slowly  in  triplet  time 
and  gradually  increase  the  speed  until  the  requisite  rapidity  combined 
with  an  even  articulation  can  be  attained. 


ON  FINGERING  AND  MEMORY  65 

Great  technicians  are  always  inventing  new  methods  of  fingering 
for  difiicLilt  progressions,  in  order  to  try  and  make  them  easier  and 
quicker  of  mastery.  One  of  comparatively  recent  origin  is  for 
playing  chromatic  scales  in  thirds  as  follows :  Slide  the  2nd  finger 
from  black  note  to  white  one,  thus  using  that  finger  twice  running ; 
for  instance,  proceed  from  the  third  D  sharp-F  sharp  taken  with 
the  2nd  and  3rd  fingers,  to  the  third  E-G  taken  with  the  2nd  and  4th. 
I  give  on  page  60  an  illustration  to  show  more  clearly  what  is  meant. 
This  fingering  is  a  great  help  to  clearness  of  articulation  in  chromatic 
third  scales,  which  clearness,  moreover,  is  always  so  diflficult  to  obtain 
in  double-note  passage  playing. 

THE  BEST  GUIDE 

It  can  be  safely  said  that  the  very  best  guides  for  the  right 
application  of  fingering  are  to  be  found  in  the  different  scalej  and 


Fig.  28.     Extract  from  Prelude  in  D  flat  (Chopin),  showing  substitution  of 

fingers  in  legato  passages. 

^rpeggi  of  every  kind,  which  form  the  basis  of  all  pianoforte  tech- 
nique. For  every  passage  is  primarily  made  on  the  principles  of 
these  progressions,  and  therefore  if  students  apply  the  fingering  as 
given  especially  in  my  Compendium  which  deals  with  Scales  and 
-Arpeggio  Exercises,  they  will  easily  be  able  with  these  as  a  guide  to 
finger  cf^rrectly  most  kinds  of  passages  they  may  find  in  their  pieces. 

They  may,  of  course,  have  to  make  certain  modifications  in 
places  upon  the  lines  I  have  just  pointed  out  in  my  remarks  on  the 
different  strength  of  the  fingers,  etc.,  and  also  because  they  will 
have  to  discover  what  suits  their  individual  hands  best.  For  it  is 
only  reasonable  that  a  hand  which  can  easily  stretch  the  length  of 
twelve  notes  must  needs  finger  differently  from  the  one  that  can  only 
reach  the  distance  of  six  with  difficulty!  The  latter,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say,  is  at  a  disadvantage,  as  he  has  to  change  fingers 
so  much  more  frequently  than  the  former  with  his  superior  length 
of  hand. 

A  device  which  helps  to  promote  a  good  legato  tone  is  to  quickly 


CO  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

change  the  fnii^jers  from  5  to  i,  or  from  1  to  5,  on  the  same  note 
while  still  h(^Klins;  it  clown,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  proceed  to  the  next 
note  without  a  break  in  the  sound ;  but  this  can  only  be  used  when 
the  tcvipo  is  of  a  very  moderate  speed. 

This  substitution  of  fmj^ers  is  a  very  effective  way  of  producing 
legato  octaves  witiiout  using  the  pedal  at  all,  but  it  is  only  possible 
for  hands  with  a  long  elastic  stretch.  Sometimes  it  may  be  advisable 
to  divide  a  passage  so  that  it  is  spread  over  both  hands,  if  by  so 
doing  greater  brilliancy,  rapidity  or  smoothness  can  be  obtained. 

In  general,  unless  such  a  disposition  of  the  passage  is  specially 
marked  by  the  composer,  its  use  must  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
teacher  or  the  ingenuity  of  the  student.  For  there  can  be  no  fixed 
rule  about  the  employment  of  such  divisions ;  expediency  and  suc- 
cessful effect  are  the  motives  for  their  introduction. 

HINTS  ON  MEMORY 

Correct  fingering  is  also  a  help  to  memory.  And  memory  is  a 
most  important  asset  to  the  modern  pianist,  as  it  is  now  the  fashion 
for  him  to  have  to  play  everything  in  public  by  heart.  It  will, 
therefore,  not  be  out  of  place  here,  if  after  speaking  about  fingering 
I  now  turn  to  consider  a  few  points  in  connection  with  the  faculty 
of  memory. 

For  the  pianist,  then,  especially,  will  memory  always  be  a  serious 
study  as  he  has  so  much  to  remember  at  once,  and  often  it  is  of 
such  a  complicated  nature.  Also  he  must  be  of  much  greater 
accuracy  in  his  memory  than,  for  instance,  the  singer  or  the  actor. 
For  the  actor  can  often  substitute  one  word  for  another  without 
unduly  disturbing  the  sense,  while  the  singer  has  the  accompaniment 
to  support  and  remind  him  if  he  forgets  for  a  moment.  But  with 
the  pianist  everything  depends  on  the  correctness  of  the  text,  both 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  getting  through  his  performance,  and 
from  that  of  the  enjoyment  of  his  audience. 

Now  the  more  logical  the  composition  is,  the  easier  it  is  to  learn 
by  heart.  Therefore  the  works  of  Bach  and  Beethoven  are  never 
so  hard  to  remember  as  those  of  the  modern  composers  such  as 
Debussy,  Ravel,  Scriabine,  etc.  The  former,  being  built  up  on 
general  principles  of  structural  symmetry  that  quickly  impress  them- 
selves on  the  brain,  are  much  easier  to  memorize  than  the  latter,  that 
depend  p:iore  on  atmosphere  and  harmonic  colouring  and  therefore 
pos.sess  a  less  definite  outline  to  fix  in  the  mind. 

Most  people  have  their  own  way  of  learning  by  heart  on  the 
piano.     I  myself  find  it  is  a  good  plan  to  look  upon  memory  as 


ON  FINGERING  AND  MEMORY  67 

divided  into  three  distinct  parts  of  the  same  facuhy,  each  one  being 
able  to  supplement  the  others  in  case  of  lapse  or  failure  of  one  of 
them.  These  three  I  distinguish  severally  as  the  Harmonic,  the 
Ocular,  and  the  Mechanical  memories. 

THREE   DIVISIONS 

The  Harmonic  memory  is  that  which  comes  from  acquiring  the 
knowledge  of  the  combinations  of  sounds,  development  of  progres- 
sions, modulations,  and  general  musical  construction  of  a  composi- 
tion. This  kind  of  memory  can  be  obtained  by  dissecting  the  music 
into  so  many  periods,  subdividing  it  into  harmonic  sections,  figuring 
out  the  various  changes  of  tonality  and  thus  stamping  upon  the  mind 
a  clear  perception  of  the  form  of  the  music. 

The  Ocular  or  Visual  memory  is  generated  by  the  impression 
made  on  the  brain  by  the  written  pages  of  music  as  transmitted  to  it 
by  the  eyes.  These  get  accustomed  to  seeing  the  various  notes  and 
lines  in  certain  places  on  the  pages,  and  in  definite  dispositions  in  the 
different  periods  of  the  piece,  and  the  reflection  of  their  vision  on  the 
inner  eye  of  the  brain  remains  after  the  actual  visible  written  page 
of  music  has  been  removed. 

The  third  kind  of  memory,  the  Mechanical  one,  comes  from  the 
fingers,  which  from  continual  mechanical  practice  and  repetition  of 
passages  during  study,  take  the  habit  of  playing  the  groups  and 
progressions  of  notes  almost  unconsciously.  This  last  is  certainly 
ilie  most  unreliable  of  the  three  memories;  because,  if  by  inadvert- 
ence the  pianist  takes  only  once  in  a  passage  a  different  finger  from 
the  one  his  hand  is  accustomed  to,  it  may  put  him  completely  out,  and 
a  breakdown  can  ensue  if  he  has  not  got  the  other  memories  to  aid 
him  to  retrieve  his  momentary  lapse. 

Therefore,  like  everything  mechanical,  this  finger  memory  is  not 
to  be  solely  depended  upon  without  the  help  of  the  other  two,  in  fact 
I  call  it  sometimes  the  Auxiliary  memory  only.  In  any  case,  which- 
ever of  the  three  modes  of  memory  fail,  the  others  can  come  to  the 
rescue,  therefore  all  three  must  be  cultivated  as  much  as  possible. 

LEAUN    BIT   BY  BIT 

It  is  advisable  for  the  purpose  of  memorizing,  as  well  as  for  the 
general  mastery  of  a  piece,  to  learn  it  bit  by  bit,  taking  eight  bars  or 
so  at  a  time.  Constant  reiteration  is  bad,  for  it  only  fatigues  the 
brain  without  producing  the  ref|uisite  imj)ressi()n.  It  is  better  to 
play  s(jinething  once  or  twice  over,  carefully  noticing  each  detail  and 


68  HOW    TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

then  stop  to  (lii^cst  it.  A  good  way  is  to  learn  each  hand's  part 
separately  by  heart  so  as  to  visualize  it  mentally  with  such  distinct- 
ness that  the  student  can,  if  recjuired.  play  any  given  bar  by  itself 
and  be  able  .to  commence  unhesitatingly  at  any  point  in  a  piece, 
when  asked  to  do  so.  Sometimes  it  is  effective  to  study  a  piece  in 
the  evening,  then  go  to  bed  and  think  the  music  over  mentally,  note 
by  note,  and  chord  by  chord,  as  if  really  performing  it,  and  after- 
wards sleep. 

Having  done  this,  the  student,  upon  going  fresh  to  work  next 
morning,  will  often  find  that  the  new  piece  of  the  evening  before 
returns  clearly  to  his  mind  as  if  it  was  already  a  familiar  old  friend. 

No  one  need  be  downhearted  if  the  power  of  learning  by  heart 
does  not  come  immediately.  For  nearly  everybody  can  obtain  it  in 
a  considerable  degree  by  training,  though  some  people  no  doubt 
have  a  natural  talent  for  it  that  scarcely  seems  to  need  exercising 
at  all  to  keep  it  vigorous.  Certainly  the  pianist  who  possesses  by 
nature  a  good  memory  and  has  also  trained  it  carefully  can  arrive 
at  the  most  incredible  rapidity  in  learning  music  by  heart.  To  wit. 
Van  Bulow,  the  great  pianist,  of  whom  the  story  is  told  that  he 
learnt  the  whole  of  Tchaikovsky's  Variations  in  F  Major  for  the 
piano  in  the  train  between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  and  played 
them  by  heart  at  a  concert  the  same  evening  when  he  arrived ! 

No  doubt  the  more  musical  talent  a  man  possesses,  the  easier 
he  will  learn  music  by  heart,  and  the  longer  he  will  retain  it.  It  is 
equally  certain  that  temperament,  though  one  of  the  greatest 
enhancements  of  talent,  is  to  some  extent  prejudicial  to  reliability 
of  memory  during  public  performance  in  the  following  way.  The 
temperamental  player  loses  himself  in  the  beauty  of  his  music.  He 
imagines  that  he  is  improvising,  he  feels  as  if  what  he  is  playing 
is  really  the  expression  of  his  own  soul.  Suddenly  the  dream 
vanishes !  He  awakes  to  actuality  and  finds  that  he  is  still  playing 
a  certain  part  of  a  set  piece  by  a  certain  composer !  He  is  perhaps 
bewildered  by  the  sudden  cold  douche  of  consciousness.  He 
realizes  his  surroundings,  he  falters,  he  forgets  what  comes  next ! 

Rubinstein,  greatest  of  pianists,  suffered  terribly  from  this  kind 
of  lapse  of  memory,  which  he  put  down  entirely  to  being  carried 
away  by  his  temperament.  Still,  better  the  temperament  of 
Rubinstein  than  the  exactitude  of  the  pianola!  However,  the 
student  is  not  by  any  manner  of  means  a  Rubinstein,  and  what  was 
forgiven  to  his  commanding  genius  cannot  be  conceded  to  the 
ordinary  mortal !  Therefore  the  temperamental  player  will  find 
in  his  public  performance  that  memory  will  generally  be  a  source 
of  anxiety  to  him.     But  this  anxiety  ought  to  be  more  than  com- 


ON  FINGERING  AND  ME  MORI  69 

pensated  for  by  the  reflection  that  memory  can  be  acquired  by 
patience  and  reasoning  power,  while  true  temperament  can  never 
be  even  simulated,  but  is  a  gift  of  God.  The  music  of  Bach  is  most 
admirably  adapted  for  developing  a  precise  memory.  For  in  his 
compositions  are  to  be  found  the  most  complicated  forms  of  poly- 
phonic writing,  where  the  mind  must  be  always  on  the  alert  to 
distinguish  the  many  different  parts  with  each  their  individual 
workings. 


Chapter  IX 

SOME  COMMON  MISTAKES  AND  ADVICE  HOW  TO  AVOID 

THEM 

When  a  student  comes  to  play  to  the  artist  with  whom  he  desires 
to  study,  how  often  does  he  ask,  when  he  has  finished  his  per- 
formance :  "  Master,  what  I  really  want  you  to  tell  me  is,  whether 
I  have  any  very  serious  faults  in  my  playing?  " 

Serious  faults  in  his  playing!  Poor  fellow!  He  probahly  has 
several  which  he  has  not  yet  discovered  himself,  and  which  most 
likely  no  one  has  ever  drawn  his  attention  to. 

What,  then,  are  some  of  the  most  common  faults,  and  at  the 
same  time  some  of  the  worst  of  those  which  students  of  the  piano 
may  fall  into  unsuspectingly  through  careless  tuition?  Well,  these 
are  many  and  various,  and  are  generally  very  difficult  to  eradicate. 
Aloreover,  they  beset  the  most  talented  players,  just  as  much  as  their 
less  gifted  brethren. 

WRONG  USE  OF  PEDAL 

To  begin  with,  there  is  no  more  usual  failing,  or  one  more 
damaging  to  good  piano-playing,  than  too  much  use  of  the  pedal, 
and  its  application  in  the  wrong  places.  The  pedal  is  really  a 
very  dangerous  attraction  to  the  inexperienced  and  yet  enthusiastic 
performer.  It  is  such  an  alluring  temptation  to  hear  the  notes 
welling  into  one  another,  also  the  blur  of  sound  produced  by  much 
pedalling  covers  up  so  many  deficiencies  of  execution. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  pedal  carries  with  it  a  sort  of  special 
glamour  of  its  own,  so  that  even  children  when  they  first  start 
learning  the  piano  are  always  clamouring  to  be  allowed  to  play 
with  the  pedal.  It  is  their  greatest  ambition.  Yet  bad  use  of  the 
pedal  is  quite  capable  of  completely  marring  the  effect  of  what 
might  otherwise  be  a  fine  rendering  of  a  piece  of  music.  The 
pedal  should  be  used  to  enhance,  but  never  to  cover  up,  and  should 
be  regarded  as  a  means  for  producing  certain  definite  tone-effects 
and  variations  of  tone-colour  at  precise  moments,  and  not  as  a 
sort  of  general  mist  of  hot  vapour  or  steam  by  which  each  note, 
passage  and  chord  becomes  enveloped. 

Misuse  of  the  pedal  is  a  horrible  fault,  and  can  affect  great  and 

70 


COMMON  MISTAKES  AND  ADVICE  HOW  TO  AVOID     71 

small  alike ;  it  should  be  carefully  guarded  against.  Indeed,  the 
state  it  produces  on  the  mind  of  the  listener  is  similar  to  that 
which  overheated  air  creates  in  the  lungs,  namely,  fatigue,  nausea, 
lassitude,  and  even,  alas,  drowsiness! 


ANOTHER    BLUNDER 

Now   comes   along   the   temperamental   student,    burning   with 
ardour   for  the  beauty  of  the  music,  longing  to  make  the  noble 


«^A     Pfd7 


Fig.  29.     Prelude  in  C  Sharp  minor.     S.  Rachmaninoff,  Op.  3,  No.  2. 


Examples  showing  (above)  an  excerpt  from  the  Prelude  in  C  sharp  minor  of 
Rachmaninoff,  as  written  by  the  composer,  and  (below)  as  often  played  by 
enthusiasts  with  the  rig^ht  hand  striking  each  note  in  the  first  two  bars  a  frac- 
tion after  the  left.  In  the  third  bar  of  the  lower  example  the  chords  will  be 
seen  arpeggiocd  instead  of  together,  and  again  the  right  hand  coming  in  after 
the  left  in  the  last  two  chords. 


{\ 


elx 


Fig.  30.     Prelude  in  C  Sharp  minor.     S.  Rachmaninoff,  Op.  3,  No.  2. 

chords  of  some  fine  melody  speak  out  its  message!  What  special 
pitfall  lies  ready  to  cntr.ip  his  zealous  endeavours?  Why,  in  his 
enthusiasm    that    the    melody    in    I>otli    hands    slionld    Ik-    j)r<)perly 


72  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

brought  out,  he  gets  one  hand  playing  after  the  other!  Only  a 
fraction  of  a  second  after  the  loft  hand  tloes  the  right  hand  strike, 
but  in  that  loss  of  siniultancousncss  of  sound  the  whole  grandeur 
after  which  the  performer  is  striving  will  he  dispelled  in  the  irritating 
effect  of  one  part  of  the  harmony  always  reaching  the  ear  at  a 
slight  interval  after  the  other.  This  is  a  most  frequent  failing 
amongst  very  musical  people  who  enjoy  tremendously  what  they 
are  playing;  and  especially  does  it  occur  with  them  in  slow  move- 
ments, when  they  will  arpeggio  the  chords  between  the  two  hands 
so  much  that  it  sounds  to  me  like  drawling  in  speech,  or  even  like 
stuttering.  These  enthusiasts  lose  their  sense  of  the  symmetry 
of  the  sound  in  their  intense  pleasure  over  its  component  parts, 
and  it  is  hard  that  the  very  virtue  that  lies  in  their  love  of  the 
music  can  thus  lead  them  into  danger. 

Dragging  the  time,  another  tiresome  error  of  judgment,  proceeds 
generally  from  the  same  cause  of  over- fervour.  The  player  who 
suffers  from  this  blemish  mostly  owes  it  to  a  lack  of  sense  of 
proportion  and  taste,  and  to  a  certain  want  of  artistic  perception 
of  the  guiding  line  between  true  sentiment  and  sentimentality. 

HURRYING   THE   TEMPO 

Hurrying  the  tempo  is  nearly  as  bad,  and  is  sometimes  caused 
by  nervousness,  though  indifference,  want  of  confidence,  and  the 
very  general  mistake  of  looking  upon  a  crescendo  as  an  accellerando 
also  give  rise  to  it.  People  who  are  inclined  to  be  nervOus  when 
playing  before  others  often  get  a  queer  kind  of  defiant  sensation 
when  technically  difficult  passages  hover  in  sight ;  the  "  let's  get 
it  over  and  be  done  with  it  "  sort  of  feeling,  which  makes  them 
hurry  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 

Of  course,  hurrying  may  just  as  well  arise  from  a  lack  of  instinct 
for  rhythm  in  the  student.  Where  this  is  the  case,  it  is  rather  a 
hopeless  look-out,  as  it  is  so  hard  to  inculcate  a  real  feeling  for 
rhythm  into  someone  who  is  not  naturally  endowed  with  it.  But 
it  has  often  been  my  experience  to  listen  to  students  who  were 
gifted  with  a  most  highly-developed  sense  of  rhythm,  and  yet  who 
hurried,  especially  over  their  technically  difficult  passages,  until  I 
began  to  get  positively  breathless.  This  kind  of  increasing  the 
speed  was,  of  course,  due  to  want  of  nervous  control. 

FAULTY  RHYTHM 

As  hurrying  and  also  dragging  the  tempi  are  both  errors  con- 
nected somewhat  with  faulty  rhythm,  I  will  speak  of  this  next  as  a 


COMMON  MISTAKES  AND  ADVICE  HOW  TO  AVOID     73 

highly  unsatisfactory  failing.  Rhythm  is  no  doubt  to  a  great  extent 
instinctive,  and  is  bound  up  a  good  deal  with  individual  tempera- 
ments, .  But  it  must  be  carefully  developed  by  teaching  and  analysis, 
for  too  much  emphasis  can  never  be  bestowed  upon  giving  every 
note  in  music  its  proper  value,  apart  from  any  other  rhythmical 
consideration.  For  rhythm  in  piano-playing  is  so  essential  a  factor 
in  obtaining  a  good  tone-production,  that  it  is  imperative  to  cultivate 
it  with  great  attention  to  correctness  of  outline. 

Lack  of  rhythm,  or  faulty  rhythm,  will  take  all  character  from 
a  musical  performance,  and  will  leave  an  impression  of  insipidity 
and  monotony  where  there  is  no  rhythm,  and  of  irritation  where 
the  rhythm  is  inexact,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Close  on  the  heels  of  bad  rhythm  comes  the  weakness  of  always 
using  the  same  kind  of  tone  while  performing.  Plenty  of  variation 
of  tone-colour  is  absolutely  necessary  for  inspired  and  interesting 
playing  on  the  piano,  as,  indeed,  on  all  instruments. 

On  the  piano  this  is  more  difficult  to  arrive  at  than  on  the 
stringed  or  even  the  wind  instruments,  and  needs  much  study  of 
the  technique  of  touch.  For  frequently  we  cannot  understand,  after 
coming  out  from  a  concert,  why  what  we  appreciated  as  a  really 
fine  performance  of  a  musical  work  had  not  arrested  our  attention 
more,  or  aroused  keener  pleasure.  A  certain  sense  of  monotony 
or  dullness  had  crept  over  us  while  listening. 

Such  a  feeling,  or  rather  want  of  feeling,  is  almost  always  the 
result  of  the  performer's  failure  to  grasp  the  possibilities  of  his 
instrument  in  relation  to  tone-colour.  Everything  he  plays  is  in 
a  similar  hue  of  tone,  therefore  a  sameness  and  lack  of  life  and 
contrast  pervades  the  whole.  It  is  a  strange  anomaly  that  the  more 
beautiful  is  the  touch  of  the  pianist  by  natural  instinct,  the  more 
he  is  apt  to  fall  into  the  fault  of  using  it  indiscriminatelv  in  the 
same  strength,  because  he  takes  so  much  personal  pride  and  pleasure 
in  it.  It  is  like  the  case  of  singers  who  are  gifted  with  wonderful 
top  notes,  and.  therefore,  are  always  inclined  to  warble  them  forth 
in   full  but  monotonous  volumes  of  sound. 


OTHER    SERIOUS    FAULTS 

There  are  other  serious  faults  which  hamper  pianists,  pertaining 
more  to  purely  tecbnical  matters.  Such  is,  for  instance,  sticking 
out  the  tlinuih.  instead  of  always  keeping  it  ready  underneath  the 
palm  of  tbe  band  in  order  to  facilitate  its  rapid  passage  during  the 
changes  of  position  on  the  keyboard.  This  is  an  important  affair, 
as  if  this  sticking  out  of  the  thumb  is  not  checked,  it  will  impede 


74  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

the  technical  perfection  of  passage-playing  and  cause  it  to  be  awk- 
ward, heavy  and  laboured. 

Kccpiiuj  the  clh(K\.'S  out  is  a  trick  that  many  fall  into,  which  is 
IxDth  unsightly  and  tlctriniental  in  tone-production,  because  it  forces 
the  hand  into  unnatural  positions,  and  stiffens  the  wrists,  as  well  as 
impairs  rapidity  and  suppleness  of  execution. 

E.x-cessiir  movement  of  the  body,  too,  while  playing,  is  disturbing 
to  the  sight  and  to  the  player's  power  of  elasticity,  yet  it  is  a  bad 
habit  which  is  much  indulged  in.  No  doubt  it  seems  to  help  people 
to  intensify  what  they  are  feeling,  but  this  is  an  illusion.  Exag- 
gerated gesture,  on  the  contrary,  tends  rather  to  diminish  an 
impression  which  might  otherwise  be  deep,  and  weakens  it,  by  a 
suggestion  of  hysteria,  while  too  frecjuently  it  borders  on  the 
ridiculous,  in  which  case  the  impression  is  altogether  lost.  Move- 
ments of  the  body  while  playing  can  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
namely,  jerky  movements  (generally  confined  to  the  head  and 
shoulders),  wdiich  produce  stififness  and  tension,  and  swaying  move- 
ments of  the  whole  frame,  which  disturb  the  rhythm. 

don't  make  faces 

Some  players  pick  up  the  peculiarity  of  making  extraordinary 
faces  during  their  performance  of  music.  This  is  a  very  absurd 
fault,  but  it  too  often  becomes  a  habit  that  is  terribly  hard  to  get 
rid  of,  because  it  is  done  quite  unconsciously  as  a  rule,  and  is  also 
instigated  by  a  desire  to  express  the  maximum  of  emotion,  and 
sometimes  provoked  by  the  physical  exertion  necessary  for  the 
performance  of  a  technical  feat.  The  only  remedy  for  "  making 
faces  "  is  to  have  a  mirror  hung  in  front  of  the  culprit  whenever 
he  is  practising. 

And  how  about  the  student  who  loves  his  right  hand  better 
than  his  left?  Pie  seems  to  follow  the  Bible  maxim  of  not  letting 
his  right  hand  know  what  his  left  hand  is  doing,  chiefly  because 
his  left  hand  is  not  doing  much  at  all!  By  this  I  mean  that  it  is 
bad  to  neglect  the  left  hand,  which  is  generally  the  weaker  member, 
anyhow,  and  not  to  allow  it  to  develop  its  fundamental  notes  with 
just  as  much  significance  and  sonority  as  the  more  obvious  work 
of  the  right  hand.  Of  course,  the  left  hand  should  never  be 
permitted  to  drown  the  right  hand,  but  it  should  sustain  and 
harmoniously  support  it. 

Young  players  also  err  very  often  by  incorrect  style  in  their 
performance  of  different  kinds  of  music.  Bach  cannot  be  played 
with  the  highly-coloured  romantic  passion  which  should  pervade 


COMMON  MISTAKES  AND  ADVICE  HOW  TO  AVOID     75 

renderings  of  Schumann  or  Tschaikovsky,  nor  with  the  weird 
ethereal  atmosphere  that  surrounds  the  music  of  the  modern  French 
school.  Music  approached  thus  in  a  totally  false  appreciation  of 
its  spirit  becomes  merely  caricature.  Yet  I  have  had  Chopin 
played  to  me  with  all  the  dryness  and  precision  of  the  most  pedantic 
classical  manner,  and  Bach  distorted  with  rubato  and  unnatural 
limelight  effects. 

It  is  perhaps  disheartening  to  think  that  there  are  so  many 
pitfalls  lurking  for  the  pianist  in  every  direction,  but  there  remains 
always  this  consoling  reflection,  that  the  man  of  real  genius,  even 
when  he  suffers  from  every  one  of  the  faults  mentioned  here,  will 
not  thereljy  be  prevented  from  still  being  a  great  player.  These 
deficiencies  of  detail  are  only  grave  hindrances  to  the  commonplace 
ability  which  has  no  divine  fire  to  sustain  it.  And  when  all  is 
said  and  done,  each  individual  possesses  the  right  to  hope  that 
the  spark  of  genius  which  palliates  so  many  evils  may  lie  in  him 
too,  if  only  it  can  be  discovered. 

I  well  remember  Leschetitzky,  the  greatest  of  pianoforte 
teachers,  finishing  up  his  lessons  to  his  dejected  pupils,  after  telling 
them  in  his  most  forceful  manner  of  all  their  heinous  faults,  with 
the  following  exhortation :  "  I  would  say  nothing,  gentlemen,  of 
the  manner  in  which  you  play,  if  only  the  result  was  a  satisfying 
one.  You  may  play  with  your  feet  upon  the  keyboard  if  only  it 
sounds  well,  but  remember  they  must  be  talented  feet." 


Chapter  X 

HOW  TO  PLAY  WITH  EXPRESSION  AND  HOW  TO  USE 

THE  PEDAL 

The  true  interpretative  artist  should  not  only  be  content  with 
"  letting  the  music  speak  for  itself  "  (to  borrow  a  stereotyped 
phrase  of  those  critics  who  regard  personal  thought  and  individu- 
ality as  a  source  of  reproach).  Such  a  passive  attitude  is  merely 
looking  at  the  musical  art  from  the  standpoint  of  photography. 
No;  rather  must  the  interpreter  endeavour  to  step  into  the  com- 
poser's shoes,  to  imagine  with  the  poignancy  of  his  imagination, 
to  feel  again  what  he  felt,  and  by  so  doing  to  rekindle  in  the  music 
all  the  power  of  fantasy,  life  and  individuality  with  which  it  was 
originally  endowed  by  its  creator. 

For  music  is  essentially  an  art  that  demands  interpretation — 
at  least,  for  its  highest  effect  and  appeal.  There  are  continual 
controversies  about  this  aspect  of  music,  but  in  my  opinion  the 
pianist  whose  part  it  is  to  be  the  public  performer  must  find  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  music  the  kernel  of  his  whole  profession. 

Of  course,  the  boundary  line  between  interpretation  and  the 
odious  vices  of  distortion  and  perversion  must  be  kept  carefully 
in  view,  and  for  this  reason  there  are  some  basic  rules  to  guide 
the  student,  from  which  it  is  impossible  to  diverge,  and  it  is  about 
some  of  these  that  I  wish  to  speak  here. 

As  regards  what  is  now  commonly  called  classical  music,  as 
distinct  from  the  romantic  or  modern  creations,  it  comprises  most 
of  the  compositions  that  were  written  up  till  the  death  of  Beethoven 
in  1826.  In  this  kind  of  music  the  ideas  and  effects  are  for  the 
most  part  presented  by  means  of  certain  recognized  and  distinct 
forms  of  expression,  and  these,  though  greatly  amplified  and 
varied  according  to  the  genius  of  the  composer,  remain  very  similar 
as  regards  the  main  structural  features. 

Around  this  great  school  of  musical  thought,  which  contains 
some  of  the  finest  treasures  of  pianoforte  literature,  many  tradi- 
tions have  arisen  as  to  the  methods  by  which  the  interpretation 
of  such  masterpieces  should  be  approached.  This  is  due  partly 
to  the  distance  that  separates  us  from  the  time  of  their  creation, 
but  mainly  to  the  fact  that  some  pre-eminently  great  performers 

76 


HOW   TO    PLAY   WITH    EXPRESSION    AND    USE    PEDAL     77 

have  given  renderings  of  these  works  at  various  periods,  which 
renderings  have  been  handed  dov.n  by  their  pupils  and  followers, 
who  afterwards  themselves  became  teachers  on  a  lesser  plane.  Thus 
the  tradition  grew  up  from  teacher  to  student,  until  by  degrees 
it  crystallized  itself  into  a  prescribed  and  definite  point  of  view 
that  has  to  be  taken  into  account. 


NEW   LIGHTS   ON   TRADITION 

It  is  to-day,  as  always,  the  mission  of  the  authoritative  inter- 
preter to  amplify  and  throw  new  lights  upon  these  traditions,  and 
not  be  content  to  accept  the  general  version  which  his  less-gifted 
brethren  have  to  subscribe  to  with  reverent  faith.  Still,  even  for 
the  great  artist  the  fundamental  principles  must  remain  the  same, 
and  for  him,  as  for  the  student,  they  will  form  the  guiding  line  of 
his  mental  vision. 

Of  course,  I  know  that  there  is  a  school  of  musical  thought 
which  practically  condemns  any  effort  at  interpretation  or  emotion 
in  music.  They  like  to  be  given  just  the  notes  as  they  were 
written  down,  like  so  many  words  recited  without  a  shadow  of  life 
or  expression.  Artists  have  often  been  much  called  to  task  by 
critics  who  hold  such  views  because  their  interpretations  of  the 
masterpieces  of  music  are  based  on  the  natural  conviction  that 
the  greater  the  music,  the  more  power  of  colour,  fine  feeling  and 
poetry  it  ought  to  be  able  to  express.  It  is  difficult  to  understand 
the  people  who  talk  with  arrogant  authority  about  how  exactly  a 
musical  work  should  be  interpreted.  They  like  to  invest  it  with 
a  sort  of  traditional  dryness  of  expression  which  tends  to  render 
especially  the  older  of  the  great  classics  a  sort  of  trial  of  tediousness 
which  many  genuine  music  lovers  submit  to  endure  only  as  a  kind 
of  educational  duty.  It  is,  I  am  sure,  a  good  deal  a  matter  of 
temperament  that  controls  these  radical  divergences  of  ideas  about 
musical  performance.  It  seems  to  me  that  to  hold  such  views 
is  not  to  get  any  further  than  mere  arrangements  of  detail  and 
narrow  perspective,  while  the  true  majesty  of  the  picture  is  missed. 
I  have  many  times  met  truly  musical  people  who  found  liach  and 
Beethoven  dull,  and  were  surprised  at  having  been  stirred  by  a 
great  fugue  or  sonata  which  they  had  never  appreciated  before. 
And  I  am  certain  it  was  because  they  had  never  been  allowed  the 
opportunity  of  realizing  the  full  glory  of  such  music.  For  can 
one  imagine  a  nobler  or  wider  range  in  wliich  to  find  every 
wealth  of  imagination,  intellect  and  feeling  than  is  to  be  found  in  the 
great  sonatas  of  I'cctbr)ven. 


78  HOW  TO  PI.AY  THE  PIANO  s 

The  earliest  pianoforte  nuisic  we  know  of  was  written  in  the 
form  of  simple  dance  measures  such  as  courantes,  alleinandes, 
pavanes.  gigues  and  so  forth.  These  were  performed  upon  very 
primitive-keyed  instruments,  amongst  the  best  known  being  the 
virginals,  harpischords  and  spinets,  and  they  were  only  suitable 
to  the  plainest  methods  of  treatment. 

Indeed,  the  story  is  told  of  Dr.  Arne,  the  celebrated  eighteenth- 
century  English  composer,  that  he  said  about  one  of  those  instru- 
ments, "  It  is  the  devil's  own  instrument,  my  masters,  like  the 
scratch  of  a  quill  with  a  squeak  at  the  end  of  it." 

Only  since  the  variety  and  capacity  of  instruments  have  de- 
veloped, and  also  since  Bach  created  the  complex  and  polyphonic 
harmonies  which  revolutionized  pianoforte  music,  has  the  scope 
of  harmonical  expression  become  so  greatly  enlarged,  and  the 
problems  which  surround  it  so  complicated.  The  discovery  of  the 
pedal,  too,  changed  the  whole  complexion  of  interpretation  on  the 
piano,  while  in  the  light  of  modern  technique  it  seems  strange  to 
think  that  before  the  advent  of  Bach  the  use  of  the  thumb  and 
also  of  the  5th  finger  was  absolutely  forbidden  by  the  best  teachers. 

In  those  days  the  wrist  was  held  high  and  the  hand  stiff;  a 
high  chair  was  no  doubt  also  used  for  sitting  at  the  instrument, 
and  the  whole  attitude  while  playing  must  have  been  one  of  rigidity 
and  precision.  Any  rendering  of  this  primitive  music  was  necessarily 
very  quiet  and  limited  in  the  means  employed.  All  violent  crescendo 
or  diminuendo  effects  were  impossible,  and  the  rhythm  was  con- 
fined to  the  swaying  but  monotonous  lilt  of  the  gigues  of  that 
day,  or  to  the  more  stately  measures  of  the  pavanes.  Certainly 
it  would  seem,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  indecorous  to  play  a  piece  of 
the  sixteenth  century  even  on  a  modern  pianoforte  with  the  aban- 
donment of  a  Liszt  Rhapsody,  or,  vice  versa,  to  render  the  passionate 
music  of  Chopin  or  Liszt  with  the  demure  coldness  of  the  early 
masters.  This  is  where  a  sense  of  style  should  come  in,  to  help 
the  artist  in  his  conception  of  the  different  aspects  of  musical 
composition. 

MUSICAL  STYLE 

And  what  is  musical  style?  I  think  it  can  be  explained  as  the 
impression  reflected  upon  the  music  by  the  manners,  customs,  and 
modes  of  thought  which  were  characteristic  of  the  epoch  when  it 
was  written.  For,  after  all,  people  lived,  loved  and  suffered  every 
kind  of  emotion  in  former  centuries  just  as  we  do  now,  only  each 
period  has  had  its  diverse  ways  of  expressing  these  things  in  the 
arts. 


HOW   TO   PLAY   WITH    EXPRESSION   AND    USE    PEDAL     79 

What,  then,  do  we  mean  by  the  interpretation  of  music  itself 
for  the  purpose  of  performance?  Is  it  not  the  employing  of  all 
possible  technical  means  to  infuse  the  spirit  of  life  into  the  inanimate 
musical  form,  and  cause  it  to  be  kindled  into  a  definite  sound-picture 
for  the  mind  of  the  Hstener?  On  the  pianoforte  this  is  done  by 
means  of  accents,  variations  of  tone-values  (crescendo  and  dimin- 
ticndo),  variations  of  rhythm  {acccllcrando  and  ritardando) , 
variety  of  touch,  and  manipulation  of  the  pedals.  Accents  enable 
the  pianist  to  bring  into  prominence  certain  notes,  or  groups  of 
notes,  which  might  be  comparable  to  cries,  exclamations,  interjec- 
tions in  the  elocutionary  art,  or  to  sudden  bursts  of  colour  in 
painting. 

These  and  other  similes  could  be  followed  up  through  the  whole 
scale  of  human  emotions,  for  the  well-trained  hand  of  the  pianist, 
being  the  pliant  tool  of  his  imagination,  represents  to  him  what 
the  brush  does  to  the  painter,  or  the  voice  to  the  actor.  And  many 
of  the  same  aesthetic  laws  govern  all  these  in  their  work  as  far  as 
is  possible,  when  the  difference  of  circumstance  and  material  is 
taken  into  account. 

RULES   OF    INTERPRETATION 

As  far  as  the  general  rules  of  interpretation  are  concerned,  I 
will  give  a  few  which  appertain  to  what  might  be  called  the  syntax 
of  music.  Such  are  the  following.  An  ascending  passage  should 
be  played  with  a  crescendo,  a  descending  passage  with  a  diminuendo. 
The  pedal  must  be  changed  according  to  the  harmonies,  in  order 
to  blend  tlie  tones,  and  to  enable  notes  to  be  held  on  which  the 
fingers  could  not  manage  without  its  assistance.  Rhythm,  too, 
as  distinct  from  time,  must  be  clearly  marked,  so  as  to  indicate 
where  accents  ought  to  fall,  and  to  create  atmosphere.  Music 
played  without  true  rhythm  will  always  sound  colourless  and  insipid. 
Time  should  also  be  well  defined,  that  it  may  preserve  the  general 
form  of  the  composition. 

Skilful  use  of  all  these  means  makes  up  the  art  of  interpretmg. 
and  it  is  for  the  mentality  of  the  pianist  to  employ  them  in  their 
varying  degrees,  to  mould  them,  combine  them,  and  dispose  of 
them,  and  thus  invest  the  whole  work  with  the  pulsating  breath  of 
actuality.  No  doubt  there  must  exist  in  the  interpreter  a  natural 
good  taste  which  will  govern  his  outlook,  and  this  can  only  .spring 
from  a  sound  musical  instinct  trained  by  education,  and  by  hearing 
great  artists  perform.  For  it  goes  without  saying  that  there  are 
no   absolute   rules   about    interpretation.      There   can    but    l)c    some 


so 


now  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


broad  outlines  of  stylo  and  taste  to  stimulate  the  imagination  of 
the  student,  and  help  him  in  his  task. 

As  I  have  already  pointed  out,  thq  interpretations  of  the 
masterpieces  of  music  by  great  artists  become  established  as  tradi- 
tioiis.  Still  the  personal  thought  of  the  performer  should  make  its 
influence  felt  in  the  rendering  of  all  music,  even  of  the  most 
classical  type,  if  that  rendering  is  to  be  of  any  real  value  and 
interest,  only  this  personality  has  to  conform  to  the  general  dicta 
of  the  style.  Thus  it  will  be  found  that  no  two  fine  artists  will 
interpret  a  piece   in  the  same   way.     There   may  be  a  thousand 


Fig.  31.     Opening  subject  of  Chopin's  Prelude  in  F  major. 

I. — Medium  Tempo.  Accompaniment  very  legato  in  the  right  hand  and  fingers 
very  near  the  keyboard.  No  crescendo  or  diminuendo.  The  impression  is 
one  of  complete  tranquillity  or  twilight. 

differences  of  expression  in  their  particular  performance,  and 
each  of  them  equally  correct.  This  fact  only  illustrates  how 
imagination  and  colour  may  be  infused  into  interpretation  in  much 
variety.  For  great  musical  compositions  may  well  be  compared 
to  beautiful  landscapes,  which  are  ever-changing  in  colour  and 
effect  through  the  action  of  atmospheric  conditions.  On  no  two 
days  does  the  country  look  alike,  yet  its  composition  and  outline 
remain  fixed,  everlasting. 

It  is  told  of  Beethoven  that  he  played  over  one  of  his  own 
compositions  to  a  talented  pupil  in  order  to  give  him  some  idea  of  the 
interpretative  side,  and  then  asked  the  student  to  play  the  same  piece 
again.  This  was  done,  and  the  master  complimented  him,  remark- 
ing that  although  it  differed  greatly  from  the  original,  it  was  de- 
cidedly better. 


HOW   TO   PLAY   WITH    EXPRESSION   AND    USE    PEDAL     81 

This  reminds  me  of  Tchaikovsky,  who  was  asked,  after  con- 
ducting a  composition  of  his  own,  why  he  did  not  do  so  in  the 
same  way  as  he  had  once  done  before.  "My  friend,"  the  master 
repHed,  "if  you  ever  see  me  conduct  this  again,  it  will  be  different 
still.     It  is  merely  a  matter  of  mood." 

To  show  how  different  renderings  of  the  same  piece  may  be 
possible  without  the  structure  of  the  w^ork  being  in  any  way  altered, 
I  give  on  page  80  two  interpretations  of  the  opening  subject  of 
Chopin's  Prelude  in  F  Alajor,  which  both  possess  equal  merit. 
(See  Figs.  31  and  2^2.) 


Fig.  32.     Another  rendering  of  the  same  subject. 

2. — Slow  Tempo.  Accompaniment  in  the  ripht  hand  half-strength  with  thrown 
fingers — left-hand  melody  brought  out  with  accents  as  marked.  In  the  right 
hand  undulatirfg  movement  expressed  by  a  diminuendo  and  crescendo.  The 
impression  is  one  of  movement — birds  singing,  or  water  rippling. 


Another  detail  which  it  is  necessary  for  the  student  to  bear  in 
mind  is  that  technical  passages  ought  never  to  be  played  as  if  they 
were  of  purely  digital  dexterity,  as  this  method  makes  of  such 
passages  only  hard,  uninteresting  interludes  of  display,  wearisome 
to  the  listener  and  of  no  value  musically.  All  technical  passages, 
even  the  most  difficult  ones,  shfmld  be  considered  as  embroideries 
of  tht  main  harnK^nies;  in  fact,  they  are  the  rhetoric  of  the 
composition. 

Melody  also  should  not  be  knocked  out  with  unbalanced  en- 
thusiasm to  the  entire  detriment  of  the  accompaniment,  nor  should 
any  two  notes  of  a  meUxly  be  given  with  exactly  the  same  tone- 
colour,  for  this  will  Create  monotony  of  sound.  Every  single  tone 
should  l>e  on  a  genera!  .scale  of  gradation,  each  having  its  own 
place   in  the  scheme  of  chiaro.scuro ;  because   the  mechanical   lone 


8'3  HOW  TO  PLAY   THE   PIANO 

of  the  piano  itself,  with  whicli  wc  arc  deaHng^,  makes  it  imperative 
that  every  device  to  conjure  up  perspective  and  cliarm  should  be 
hroui^ht  into  service,  and  above  all  typewriting  effects  of  precise 
striking  must  be  strenuously  avoided. 

THE    ATTITUDE    OF    THE    HANDS 

In  fact,  the  keyboard  ought  never  to  be  struck  hard  at  all  in 
Irgato  passages  or  in  melody  of  any  kind.  On  the  contrary,  the 
keys  must  be  caressed  with  a  sort  of  almost  stroking  movement, 
to  obtain  the  requisite  tone-values.  And  in  connection  with  this 
there  is  another  thing  to  which  I  attach  great  importance,  namely, 
that  the  hand  in  its  attitude  on  the  keyboard  should  reflect  in  some 
degree  the  spirit  of  the  music. 

For  instance,  it  would  not  be  natural  to  hold  the  hands  as 
formally  when  playing  Chopin  as  in  the  performance  of  sixteenth- 
century  music.  Again,  in  a  vivacious  piece  the  hands  should  look 
sprightly  and  full  of  energy,  while  in  slow  cantabile  movements 
they  should  present  a  soft  and  sinuous  appearance.  For  even  the 
fact  of  the  hand  looking  hard  and  stiff  during  playing  will  assuredly 
affect  the  sound  adversely,  and  rob  it  of  beauty  of  quality. 

All  these  things  are  intimately  connected  with  the  preparation 
of  a  fine  touch  upon  the  piano.  The  word  "  touch,"  as  a  musical 
term,  signifies  really  the  mode  by  which  the  fingers  attack  the  key- 
board. For  the  great  difficulty  to  be  contended  with  on  the  piano 
w'hen  it  is  necessary  to  produce  a  singing  tone  lies  in  this,  that 
by  its  mechanical  composition,  if  once  a  key  is  struck  upon  the 
instrument,  no  further  modification  of  the  sound-quality  is  possible. 
No  vibrato  or  mellowing  of  the  tone  can  be  afterwards  ap- 
plied as  on  stringed  instruments;  with  the  piano,  all  is  over 
when  the  finger  has  once  fallen  and  the  hammer  has  struck  the 
strings. 

Therefore  anything  that  can  be  done  to  sweeten  the  tone  must 
be  attempted  before  the  striking  of  the  note.  By  this  I  mean  that 
an  infinitesimal  time  should  elapse  between  the  action  of  lifting  the 
finger  to  strike  and  the  definite  falling  of  the  finger  upon  the  key. 
Touch  must  be  thus  prepared  in  the  playing  of  all  melody  and 
singing  passages  with  a  slow  pressing  movement  of  the  hand  and 
fingers.  This  caressing  touch  could  not,  of  course,  be  employed  in 
rapid  difficult  passages,  where  direct  quick  blows  of  the  fingers 
are  indispensable  in  order  to  save  time.  In  such  cases,  and  in  the 
higher  development  of  technical  brilliance,  no  more  lifting  of  the 
fingers  is  necessary  than  is  compatible  with  distinct  articulation. 


HOW   TO    PLAY   WITH    EXPRESSION    AND    USE    PEDAL     83 


THE  SOUL  OF  THE  PIANO 

I  now  come  to  the  loud  or  sustaining  pedal,  which  Rubinstein 
aptly  called  "  the  soul  of  the  piano."  It  certainly  is  the  best  friend 
the  pianist  has  at  his  disposal  for  helping  him  to  overcome  the 
material  drawbacks  of  the  pianoforte's  constitution,  and  without  it 
no  legato  playing  or  prolongation  of  tone  would  be  possible  at  all. 

Of  course,  there  are  two  pedals  on  the  modern  pianoforte,  even 
sometimes  three,  but  the  soft  one  is  only  used,  as  its  name  implies. 
for  deadening  the  sound.  The  loud  pedal,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  real 
important  factor,  and  when  I  speak  of  the  pedal  in  future  as  a 
general  term,  it  is  always  to  this  one  that  I  am  referring.  The 
name  "loud  pedal''  is  really  a  misnomer,  as  its  function  is  rather 
to  sweeten  the  sound  and  render  it  more  open,  and  also  to  add 
brilliance  to  the  tone  rather  than  actual  loudness.  If  the  pedal  is  a 
good  friend  it  can  also  l)e  the  worst  possible  enemy  if  badly  employed. 
Nothing  is  more  terrible  than  the  general  blur  cast  over  everything 
by  the  pedal  when  it  is  applied  without  expert  knowledge.  A  few 
simple  rules   about  how   it   should   be   used   are  as   follows. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  pedal  must  be  changed  on 
different  harmonies;  it  should  also  never  be  taken  directly  on  the 
first  beat  of  the  bar  to  obtain  the  best  results,  but  in  syncopation 
with  that  beat,  as  in  the  example  below. 

DO  NOT  IMPAIR  DISTINCTNESS 

The  pedal  can  also  be  used  in  passages  to  give  a  more  sus- 
taining quality  to  the  tone,  though  here  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
impair  distinctness,  but  a  great  deal  more  pedal  can  be  applied 
without  causing  any  blur  if  an  accent  is  given  on  the  bass  note  on 
which  the  passage  is  built.  The  pedal  may  be  applied  in  a  greater 
degree  in  the  higher  than  in  the  lower  registers  of  the  instrument, 
as  the  higher  tones  can  stand,  and  also  need,  more  sustaining 
than  the  lower  ones,  whilst  these  last  possess  of  themselves  a  certain 
sustenance  of  tone,  and  therefore  blur  more  quickly.  When  ap- 
plying the  pedal  it  should  never  be  banged  on,  but  pressed  down 
gently  and  gradually. 

It  is  essential  to  possess  a  good  knowledge  of  harmony  in  order 
to  be  able  to  apply  the  pedal  correctly,  for  it  is  necessary  when  using 
it  to  understand  something  about  the  structure  of  chords.  All 
blurring  over  of  tone  by  the  pedal  produces  a  most  unpleasant 
impression  upon  the  ear,  and  must  be  rigorously  guarded  against, 
except  when,  in  some  particular  passage,  a  special  effect  is  required. 


84 


HOW  TO  I'LAY  THE  TIANO 


such  as  in  the  F  minor  liallade  of  Chopin,  in  the  example  given 

below. 

But  this  is  only  an  outlying  instance  which  really  appertams 
to  the  most  elaborate  study  of  tone-colour.    The  general  elementary 


^^lf^iy<.  ^C 


%      ?^t 


Fig.  33.     Prelude  in  D  flat  (Chopin). 
Example  showing  tlie  pedal  taken  in  syncopation  with  the  beat. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  pedal  is  taken  directly  after  the  note  is  struck  and  not 
on  it  the  finger  not  being  released  until  the  pedal  ,s  pressed  down  1  he  clamp 
Snde'r  the  bass  part  indicates  the  exact  duration  of  holdnig  down  the  pedal. 

rule  for  the  student,  however,  remains  that  the  blurring  of  tones  by 
the  pedal  is  bad— in  fact,  it  is  one  of  the  worst  faults  a  pianist  can 
commit  Professional  pianists  use  the  pedal  very  much  more  than 
amateurs,  but  it  will  not  be  so  apparent  in  their  playing.  This  is 
because  the  experienced  artist  takes  his  pedal   in  a  correct  way 


Fig    34      Example  showing  special  blurring  effect  of  pedal  in  Chopin's 
^'^'  F    minor  Ballade. 

Here  the  oedal  is  taken  for  two  bars  instead  of  being  changed  at  each  bar.  This 
Here  the  P^*^^'  '=.  "^^"  .ff„-.  „.  surging  water,  or  the  wind  whisthng  through  the 

Trelr^^L^X  unfefthe'bS'pa'rt  indicates  the  exact  duration  of  holdmg 

down  the  pedal. 

harmonicallv,  so  that  it  blends  the  tones  naturally  and  does  not 
upset  the' outlines,  while  the  player  who  does  not  possess  the  under- 
standing or  the  training  neglects  to  change  the  pedal  with  the 
harmonies,  and  thereby  produces  a  smudge  of  sound  mstead  of 
clear  colour. 


HOW  TO   PLAY   WITH   EXPRESSION   AND   USE   PEDAL     85 

The  pedal  is  indeed  the  essence  of  life  to  the  pianoforte,  and 
by  managing  it  wisely  the  pianist  will  conjure  up  out  of  his  music 
the  most  vivid  and  satisfying  impressions,  while  to  the  lovers  of 
beautiful  sound  there  can  be  no  more  fascinating  study  than  the 
many  and  varied  combinations  which  the  pedal  is  able  to  obtam 
by  the  binding  together  of  different  tone-colours. 


Chapter  XI 

HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  PIANO  SING 

What  is  the  most  elusive  and  difficult  thing  to  teach,  and  yet  at 
the  same  time  the  most  necessary  of  all  the  powers  which  a  pianist 
must  acquire  to  be  successful  in  his  art?  Is  it  not  surely  the  power 
to  produce  a  fine,  noble  singing  tone  from  his  instrument? 

The  study  of  tone  on  the  pianoforte  in  all  its  infinite  varieties 
of  loudness  and  softness,  of  roundness,  of  purity,  of  abruptness,  or 
sensuousness,  is  as  intricate  and  absorbing  as  anything  in  the  world 
of  musical  technique.  For  it  combines  within  itself  not  only  the 
highest  technical  attainment,  but  also  much  that  properly  belongs 
to  the  province  of   interpretation  and   inspiration. 

Looking  at  the  piano  merely  from  the  standpoint  of  a  mechanical 
instrument,  it  is  wonderful  to  realize  how  much  can  be  done  by  the 
skill  and  taste  of  the  player  to  vary  and  qualify  the  sound  it  gives 
out.  Constantly  people  are  heard  to  say,  "  How  he  makes  the 
instrument  sing!  "  This  is  the  kernel  of  the  whole  matter,  namely, 
to  "  make  the  instrument  sing."  It  is  not  enough  to  play  clearly, 
to  play  fast,  to  play  slowly,  to  play  loudly,  to  play  softly;  all  these 
different  gradations  must  be  alive  with  the  requisite  tone  to  make 
them  real  and  atmospheric. 

THE  STUDY  OF  TONE 

Tone  represents  to  the  pianist  what  colour  does  to  the  painter, 
and  some  artists  possess  a  finer  perception  of  that  quality  than 
others.  Besides,  some  pianists  are  not  mainly  interested  in  the 
study  of  tone,  but  are  content  with  striking  the  keys  always  more 
or  less  in  the  same  way,  either  loud  or  soft,  or  messo forte,  as  the 
case  may  be.  In  the  performance  of  the  more  modern  and  romantic 
schools  of  musical  compositions  such  as  Chopin  and  Schumann,* 
and  those  of  our  own  day,  this  indifference  to  variety  of  tone  will 
pass  muster  more  or  less  easily,  as  this  kind  of  music  is  in  itself 
generally  so  full  of  colour  and  elaborate  harmony  in  its  combinations 
of  sound  that  the  lack  of  much  subtlety  of  tone  on  the  player's 
part  will  not  be  so  much  felt.     And  this  more  especially  upon  the 

86 


HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  PIANO  SING  87 

modern  pianoforte,  which  yields  a  good  full  tone  without  any  effort 
if  not  struck  too  directly. 

But  when  playing  classical  music  a  dry  or  prosaic  tone  is  a 
terrible  drawback,  for  it  renders  it,  even  to  musical  people,  tedious 
and  wearying  to  listen  to,  because  of  the  dead  monotonous  delivery 
of  the  performer.  Whereas  if  each  chord,  each  phrase,  each  melody 
is  reverently  thought  out  and  made  to  glow  with  beauty  and  variety 
of  tone,  all  the  glory  and  worth  of  the  great  music  can  be  brought 
home  to  those  very  listeners  who  otherwise  might  have  been  bored 
by  it. 

Beauty,  and  with  it  variety,  of  tone,  can  be  obtained  on  the 
pianoforte  by  several  means.  Rhythm  has  something  to  do  with 
it.  Pressure  of  the  fingers  when  striking  the  notes  affects  it ; 
suppleness  and  elasticity  of  the  wrists  help  to  attain  it.  In  melody. 
tone  should  be  caressed  out  of  the  piano,  rnelting  one  note  into 
another  by  an  undulating  movement  of  the  hand.  In  sparkling 
technical  passages  it  should  be  outlined  concisely  by  means  ot 
rhythm,  in  the  w^ay  of  accents  in  some  places,  and  in  others  by 
careful  divisions  of  values,  with  regard  to  the  balance  of  light 
and  shade  in  the  structure  of  the  passage.  Such  conciseness  of  tone 
will  produce  a  fine  relief  for  the  technical  ornamentations  and 
impart  to  them  vigour  and  brilliance. 

AVOID    HARSHNESS 

Great  power  of  tone  is  very  difficult  to  produce  without  harsh- 
ness, for  chords  struck  with  direct  and  powerful  blows  of  the 
hand  will  emit  hard,  metallic  sounds  that  must  shock  the  ear. 
But  if  the  strength  is  concentrated  and  applied  through  the  forearm 
to  the  keys,  the  fingers  being  pressed  down  into  the  notes  as  if 
about  to  force  a  great  weight  out  of  the  piano,  the  harshness  will 
be  avoided,  and  a  full,  deep  singing  tone  will  be  the  result. 

Sometimes  in  a  concerto  with  the  orchestra  the  piano  is  left 
alone  suddenly  to  usher  in  a  grand  and  powerful  phrase,  the 
orchestra  having  just  before  been  playing  with  immense  tone  and 
wealth  of  sound.  This  hay)pens,  for  instance,  at  the  end  of  the 
last  movement  of  Grieg's  Pianoforte  Concerto.  (Sec  Fig.  35.) 
In  such  a  place,  unless  the  pianist  can  bring  his  tone  up  to  some- 
thing approximating  to  the  volume  and  richness  which  the  orchestra 
has  just  left  off  giving  out,  the  pluase  which  he  now  has  to  bring 
in  alone  will  miss  its  whole  effect.  His  performance  of  it  will  give 
the  impression  of  a  poor,  stilted,  hard  imitation  of  the  orchestra, 
or,  in  fact,  it  will  sound  like  the  effort  of  a  mouse  trying  to  carry 


8S 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THK   PIANO 


on  the  work  of  a  lion.  So  to  acconii)lisli  this  tremendous  halanee 
of  tone  with  a  whole  orehestra  against  him  the  pianist  must  be 
able  to  combine  ji^reat  strenijth  witli  (Iii)th  and  sonority. 

The  ii^raiuhose  cadenza  of  chords  in  the  (i|HMiinij^  bars  of  Liszt's 
Pianoforte  Concerto  in  E  tlat  is  anotlirr  instance  where  hardness 
of  tone  makes  the  wh(^le  passa<::e  unbearable,  instead  of,  as  it  should 
be.  if  given  with  the  right  quality  of  sound,  profound,  and  fraught 
with  an  atmosphere  of  impending  excitement.     (See  Fig.  27,,  page 

57-) 


Fig.  35.  The  end  of  the  last  movement  of  Grieg's  Pianoforte  Concerto  in 
A  minor,  showing  after  two  bars  that  piano  is  left  alone  to  continue  in 
triple  forte. 

For  if  a  pianist  just  comes  down  like  a  sledge-hammer  upon 
the  chords,  as  some  do  when  endeavouring  to  obtain  great  power 
of  tone,  it  only  degenerates  into  mere  noise,  and  can  contain  none 
of  the  epic  quality  with  w^hich  a  grand  sequence  of  fortissimo  chords 
should  be  invested.  In  pianissimo  tone  much  the  same  sort  of  thing 
applies  as  regards  the  quality  of  it.  if  the  tone  produced  is  only  a 
quiet  sound,  the  result  of  a  very  gentle  fall  of  the  finger  on  the 
key  and  nothing  more,  what  is  there  in  it?  It  may  be  soft,  but 
it  will  remain  cold,  impersonal,  insii);d,  without  any  aesthetic  value 
or  significance.  Therefore  the  pianist's  business  is  to  put  warmth 
and  tenderness  into  the  softness,  so  that,  though  pianissimo,  the 
sound  clings  and  appeals  to  the  ear. 

Abrupt  chords  and  outstanding  notes  at  the  end  of  a  passage 
are  also  difficult  to  play  with  sufficient  terseness  without  sacrificing 
beauty  of  tone ;  but  here  again  concentration  of  the  force  of  the 
blow  given  will  rob  it  of  the  hard  noise  of  the  impact,  without 
losing  one  jot  of  its  energetic  character. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  PIANO  SING  89 

One  of  the  best  developments  of  tone-production  on  the  piano 
is  to  be  able  to  strike  the  same  note  several  times,  and  each  time 
not  only  to  make  a  crescendo  or  a  diminuendo  of  the  sound,  but 
also  to  give  an  actual  change  in  the  character  of  the  tone.  In  a 
dccrcsccndo  where  the  repeated  note  has  to  die  away,  it  is  most 
essential  to  get  this  change  of  tone  quality,  as  it  is  so  true  to  nature. 
Every  time  a  natural  echo  resounds  again  the  tone  loses  a  little 
more  of  its  significance  and  the  quality  diminishes,  and  thus,  too, 
must  it  be  managed  on  the  piano. 

It  is  a  good  deal  owing  to  clever  manipulation  of  the  pedal 
that  such  an  effect  can  be  produced,  and  also  to  a  constant  modifica- 
tion of  the  mode  of  attacking  the  note.  Upon  each  occasion  that 
the  hand  strikes  the  note  it  should  approach  closer  and  closer  to  the 
key,  until  at  last  the  action  becomes  the  merest  pressure  of  the 
finger  on  the  note  to  bring  forth  the  final  vague  tone,  that  floats 
into  nothing  at  the  end  of  the  echo. 

BAD    INSTRUMENTS 

The  pianist  who  has  attained  a  perfect  development  of  tone- 
quality  ought  to  be  able  to  make  a  melody  sound  well  on  any  piano, 
even  the  old  cracked  tin-kettle  sort  of  variety  one  sometimes  finds 
in  country  villages.  This  will  be  no  partly  due  to  his  high  technical 
skill,  but  also  because  the  artist  who  makes  a  great  study  of  tone- 
colour  comes  to  obtain  a  sort  of  intuition,  after  he  has  played  on 
any  instrument  for  a  few  moments,  as  to  how  he  can  obtain  the 
best  results  from  it,  even  when  the  means  at  his  disposal  are  very 
limited. 

Therefore  it  is  not  always  a  disadvantage  to  the  student  to 
have  only  an  indifferent  instrument  to  practise  on  at  home,  for 
he  is  obliged  to  take  far  more  pains  to  arrive  at  a  fine  tone- 
[)roduction  on  his  poor  piano.  lie  will  consequently  learn  more 
at  the  outset  of  the  particular  technique  necessary  for  its  achieve- 
ment, and  will  possess  a  wider  range  of  experience  to  apply  when 
be  reaches  the  possibility  of  more  adequate  means  of  expression. 

The  pedal,  of  course,  is  the  greatest  adjunct  the  pianist  possesses 
to  sweeten  and  enrich  his  tone,  though  it  may  equally  well  ruin 
its  quality  unless  applied  with  much  care  and  technical  under- 
standing. For  if  the  pedal  is  carelessly  used,  and  blurs  and  slurs 
over  everytbing,  nothing  comes  of  it  save  a  heavy  atmosphere  of 
unclean  tone. 

This  fault  is  almost  worse  than  harshness  or  monotony.     And 


DO  1K)\V  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

it  is  monotonous  in  any  case,  just  as  nuich  as  tone  that  is  unsweet- 
ened by  the  pechil,  because  the  continual  bhir  of  this  murky  sound 
wearies  the  ear  ahnost  .beyond  en(hirance.  But  intelHgent  study 
of  the  effects  of  the  pedal,  and  careful  management  in  changing 
it  when  the  basic  harmonies  of  the  music  alter,  can  develop  it 
into  the  most  precious  essential  for  imparting  warmth  and  life 
to  tone. 

Still,  an  initial  dry  and  hard  tone-production  on  the  player's 
part  cannot  be  entirely  transformed  or  beautified  by  application  of 
the  pedal,  however  skilfully  it  is  done.  This  is  because  the  pianist's 
finger-attack  is  at  the  outset  hard  and  direct  in  the  actual  striking  of 
the  keys,  instead  of  being  caressing,  and  there  is  nothing  to  be 
done  until  this  fault  is  eradicated.  So  when  practising  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  endeavour  to  produce  a  melting  and  sustained  tone  in 
melody  without  first  applying  the  pedal  at  all ;  and  the  same  should 
be  done  with  chords. 

The  pianist  should  learn  to  attack  them  with  power  and  volume 
of  sound,  avoiding  harsh  blows,  before  evoking  the  pedal  to  come 
to  his  help.  Then,  when  he  is  able  to  produce  beauty  of  tone- 
quality  unaided,  he  can  study  pedal  effects  with  profit  and  enhance- 
ment to  his  playing. 

A  pianist's  best  inspiration 

Some  people  no  doubt  are  endowed  with  a  natural  facility  for 
producing  a  beautiful  tone  on  the  piano,  generally  owing  to  the 
particular  constructions  of  their  hands,  which  are  pliable,  elastic 
and  sinuous  by  nature.  But  I  think  that,  with  sufficient  careful 
study  and  attention  given  to  the  subject,  every  player  can  arrive  at 
its  acquirement,  even  though  to  some  it  seems  a  greater  difficulty 
than  to  others. 

Anyhow,  it  is  one  of  the  most  necessary  branches  of  pianoforte 
technique,  and  without  possessing  it  the  pianist  will  find  it  im- 
possible to  make  charm  or  poetry  of  expression  emanate  from  his 
instrument. 

I  can  think  of  no  more  fitting  conclusion  to  a  chapter  on  beauty 
of  tone  than  to  refer  to  Anton  Rubinstein's  attitude  towards  this 
question.  For  that  master  of  touch,  who  was  undoubtedly  one  of 
the  greatest  exponents  of  "  how  to  sing  on  the  piano,"  used  always 
to  tell  his  pupils  that  he  had  acquired  his  knowledge  from  listening 
to  the  singing  of  the  great  tenor  Rubini.  He  happened  to  hear 
Rubini   sing  one   day,   and   was   so   impressed   by   the   wonderful 


HOW  TO  MAKE  THE  PIANO  SING  91 

quality  of  his  sound-production  that  ever  afterwards  his  ideal 
remained  to  reproduce  something  of  the  tone  of  Rubini's  voice  upon 
his  piano.  Certainly,  Rubinstein's  idea  that  the  sound  of  a  beautiful 
human  voice  is  the  best  inspiration  for  the  pianist  to  imbibe  is 
one  which  every  student  of  tone-production  would  do  well  to  follow.' 


Chapter  XII 

A  SPFXIMEN  LESSON:   THE  "MOONLIGHT  SONATA" 
FIRST  MOVEMENT  (BEETHOVEN) 

I  HAVE  chosen  the  first  movement  of  the  Sonata  in  C  sharp  minor 
of  Beethoven,  commonly  known  as  the  "  Moonhght  Sonata,"  as 
the  subject  of  my  specimen  lesson,  because  it  is  so  universally 
beloved  by  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people,  and  is  so  well  known. 
It  is,  therefore,  one  which  all  students  of  the  pianoforte  must  learn. 
I  will  first  give  a  short  history  of  the  Sonata,  as  this  should  also 
be  of  special  interest  to  students. 

The  Sonata  in  C  sharp  minor,  which  was  entitled  by  Beethoven 
himself  "  Quasi  una  Fantasia,"  was  one  of  two  sonatas  written 
in  the  year  1801  and  published  in  March,  1802,  and  forming  to- 
gether Opus  27.  These  years  of  1801  and  1802  were  of  great 
creative  activity  on  the  part  of  Beethoven,  and  his  works  produced 
during  this  time  belong  to  what  is  general  classified  as  the  Master's 
second  period. 

Grove  says  that  the  Sonata  in  C  sharp  minor  was  dedicated 
to  the  Contessa  Gulietta  Guicciardi,  and  much  romance  has  been 
invented  on  this  score.  But  the  lady  herself  rather  discounts  this 
romance  by  recounting  how  Beethoven  gave  her  the  Rondo  in  G,  and 
then,  wanting  to  dedicate  something  to  the  Princess  Lichnowsky, 
he  took  the  Rondo  away  and  gave  the  Contessa  the  "  Moonlight 
Sonata  "  in  its  place.  In  my  own  edition  of  the  Sonata,  which  is 
an  old  one  published  by  Hallberger  in  Stuttgart  in  1858.  and  edited 
by  Moscheles,  the  pianist,  a  personal  friend  of  Beethoven,  it  is 
stated  to  be  dedicated  to  the  Princess  of  Liechtenstein. 

The  title  "  The  Moonlight,"  w^as  supposed  to  have  been  given 
to  the  Sonata  by  Rellstab,  a  celebrated  contemporary  musical  critic, 
who  compared  the  first  movement  to  a  moonlight  scene  on  the  Lake 
of  Lucerne.  But  it  may  also  have  received  the  name  from  a 
publisher  who,  after  the  custom  of  publishers,  christened  several 
of  Beethoven's  sonatas  by  various  titles  in  order  to  make  them 
more  popular  with  the  public  (such  as  the  "Pathetique,"  "Pastor- 
ale," "  Les  Adieux,  L' Absence,  Le  Retour,"  etc.).  I  myself  think 
the  title  of  "Moonlight"  not  inappropriate  to  the  spirit  of  the 
first  movement  of  the  C  sharp  minor  Sonata,  which  reflects  the 
romantic   atmosphere   and   mysterious   light   and   shade   connected 

92 


SPECIMEN  LESSON:  FIRST  MOVEMENT   (BEETHOVEN)     93 

with  the  presence  of  the  moon.  But  certainly  the  last  movement 
has  nothing  to  do  with  moonlight,  biit  represents  a  great  storm  of 
emotion,  where  all  is  cloud,  wind  and  fury. 


WHY   IT   IS    POPULAR 

The  Sonata  in  C  sharp  minor  was  a  great  favourite  from  the 
moment  of  its  publication,  and  Beethoven  jokingly  even  pretended 
to  be  annoyed  about  it,  as  he  considered  many  of  his  other  sonatas 
to  be  finer  works  musically;  but  still  the  "  Moonlight  Sonata  "  re- 
mains a  warm  favourite.  Probably  the  fact,  technically,  the  lovely 
slow  movement  with  which  it  commences  is  well  within  the  reach 
of  very  moderate  performers  on  the  pianoforte  may  help  to  account 
for  its  extreme  popularity  over  its  fellows,  since  so  many  amateurs 
are  able  to  derive  pleasure  from  their  own  rendering  of  it, 

Beethoven  wrote  thirty-two  sonatas  in  all,  of  which  certainly 
nearly  half  are  still  as  beloved  and  admired  as  ever  they  were,  and 
continue  to  form  an  absolutely  essential  part  of  the  repertoire  of 
every  pianist.  He  brought  the  sonata  form  to  its  highest  perfection, 
and,  having  found  the  models  of  his  predecessors  too  stilted  and 
formal  for  the  wider  expression  of  his  thoughts,  he  made  innova- 
tions of  what  in  those  days  were  considered  the  most  daring  kind, 
and  improved  upon  the  forms  he  found.  Like  all  original  men  of 
genius,  he  could  not  tolerate  being  fettered  by  conventions,  and  his 
mighty  spirit  soared  untrammelled. 

The  "  Moonlight  Sonata  "  is  one  of  Beethoven's  most  original 
compositions  of  the  so-called  second  period  of  his  works,  and  in 
it  he  shows  his  freedom  of  thought  by  commencing  the  Sonata 
with  an  adagio  movement  which  is  not  in  sonata  form,  and  which 
was  at  the  time  an  entire  innovation.  In  fact,  the  whole  work  is 
a  precursor  of  the  modern  sonata.  According  to  Beethoven's  own 
directions  the  three  movements  were  to  be  played  straight  through 
to  the  end  without  a  break.  He  puts  "  Attacca  subito  il  sequente  " 
after  each  movement,  showing  that  the  three  movements  were 
designed  to  represent  a  continuous  thread  of  thought  running 
throughout  the  whole  work.  This  unusual  and  free  treatment  of 
the  Sonata's  structure  has  imparted  to  it  a  modernity  and 
freshness  which  ensure  it  an  everlasting  place  in  the  literature  of 
the  pianoforte. 

THE  FIRST   MOVEMENT 

The  first  movement  of  the  "  Moonlight  Sonata  "  consists  of 
a   haunting   and    beautiful   melody,    full   of   romance   and   pathos. 


!)t 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


tloatiiig  on  a  continuous  stream  of  undulating  harmony.  The 
interpretation  of  it  should  be  of  the  highest  imagination,  glowing 
with  a  quiet  radiance  of  fantasy  and  feeling.  The  tone  employed 
must  be  warm  and  melting  in  quality,  imparting  at  the  same  time 
the  mysterious  resignation  and  the  vague  unrest  of  the  music's 
atmosphere.  The  opening  five  bars  should  be  played  in  a  manner 
to  convey  a  kind  of  rhythmical  stream  to  the  triplet  figures,  and 
thus  create  an  impression  as  of  a  continuously  undulating  back- 


CUO)uy^ 


CJ-bo 


I   1 


Example  No.  i,  bars  1-4. 


ground  for  the  melody  which  is  presently  to  start.  The  octaves 
in  the  bass  should  be  played  somewhat  louder  than  the  triplet 
figure  in  the  right  hand,  so  as  to  produce  the  requisite  depth  of 
tone,  though  the  volume  of  sound  should  not  overstep  the  bounds 
of  "piano"   {p).—Ex.  No.  i,  bars  1-4. 

The  melody  is  introduced  in  the 
fifth  bar,  and  must  give  the  idea 
of  floating  on  the  accompaniment. 
At  the  tenth  bar  there  comes  a 
change    of    harmony    from    the 
major   into   the   minor  key,   and 
here  the  note  G  (the  first  G)   in 
the  right  hand  should  be  accen- 
tuated.— Ex.  No.  2,  bar  10. 
Proceeding  onwards  to  the  last  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  bar  and 
leading  to  the  sixteenth,  the  melody  adopts  a  more  insistent  temper, 
which  may  be  rendered  by  emphasizing  the  notes  B  and  C  of  the 
melody  in  the  right  hand,  especially  the  C.     In  fact,  this  note  C 


Example  No.  2,  bar  10. 


SPECIMEN  LESSON:  FIRST  MOVEMENT   (BEETHOVEN)     95 

should  be  taken  arpeg^ato  with  the  accompaniment  underneath.  It 
seems  to  me  to  represent  a  cry  of  unutterable  heart-ache,  a  sudden 
longing  which  cannot  be  appeased.  In  the  following  bar,  where 
these  same  notes  of  appeal  appear  again,  they  may  be  repeated 
pianissimo  as  a  kind  of  echo. — Ex.  No.  3,  bars  15-18. 


Example  No.  3,  bars  15-18. 

Coming  to  the  twenty-fifth  bar,  there  seems  to  be  like  a  second 
voice  appearing  with  a  question  in  the  treble  and  an  answer  in  the 
base,  and  then  another  question,  and  the  answer.  In  these  bars 
the  amount  of  tone  can  be  somewhat  increased  and  a  plaintive 
expression  imparted  to  the  questioning  phrases. — Ex.  No.  4,  bars 
28-31. 


Example  No.  4,  bars  28-31. 


96 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


A  similar  development  is  to  be  fouiid  in  bars  thirty  and  thirty- 
one.     At  bar  thirty-two  a  storm  begins  to  rise  in  the  harmonies, 

and  continues  to  increase  with 
a  gradually  ascending  crescendo 
of  tone  and  acccllerando  of 
movement  until  it  reaches  its 
culminating  point  on  the  first 
note  (B  sharp)  of  the  thirty- 
sixth  bar,  which  should  be 
brought  out  with  considerable 
force. — Ex.  No.  5,  bar  36. 
From  here  onward  the  storm 
of  emotion  gradually  diminishes  in  intensity  until  it  returns  with  a 
rallentando  in  the  fortieth  and  forty-first  bars  to  the  subdued  spirit 
of  the  original  atmosphere  of  the  piece.  It  is  of  great  importance 
during  the  gradual  calming  down  of  the  stress  of  the  music  from 
bars  thirty-seven  to  forty,  that  the  melody  w^hich  has  embodied  itself 
in  the  inner  structures  of  the  harmonies  should  be  brought  out  thus. 
— Ex.  No.  6,  bars  37-40. 


Example  No.  5,  bar  36. 


^..'^jr^r""^ 


•4  1  n 


A        A 


Example  No.  6,  bars  37-40. 

The  next  part  of  the  movement  resumes  the  opening  melody, 
and  then  continues  its  course  with  some  variation  on  the  original, 
both  in  modulation  of  key  and  progression  of  passages.  In  the 
fifty-sixth  and  fifty-seventh  bars  the  melody  should  be  especially 
brought  out  and  made  apparent  above  the  rhythmical  figures  of 
the  accompaniment. — Ex.  No.  7,  bars  56-57. 

The  movement  now  sinks  towards  its  close,  and  from  the  sixtieth 
to  the  sixty- fourth  bar  the  fateful  notes  in  the  left  hand  right  down 


SPECIMEN  LESSON:  FIRST  MOVEMENT   (BEETHOVEN)     97 


Example  No.  7,  bars  56-57. 

in  the  bass  must  resound,  though  not  louder  than  mezzo-forte,  but 
still  with  an  ominous  emphasis  which  should  pervade  the  last  few 
bars  of  the  movAnent. — Ex.  No.  8,  bars  60-63. 


Example  No.  8,  bars  60-63. 

Again,  from  bars  sixty-four  to  sixty-eight,  these  deep  bass 
notes  should  speak  out  like  the  ringing  of  a  knell  of  doom,  but  this 
time,  though  equally  distinct  as  before,  they  should  be  given  as 
soft  as  possible,  like  an  echo  of  the  former  ones.  The  movement 
is  thus  brought  to  a  conclusion  in  an  atmosphere  of  melancholy 
tinged  with  vague   foreboding. 


Chapter  XIII 

PLAYING  IN  PUBLIC 

It  is  an  art  almost  to  be  acquired  of  itself  to  play  in  public  with 
success,  that  is  to  say,  to  interest  and  give  pleasure  to  the  audience, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  afford  more  or  less  satisfaction  to  the 
performer's  sense  of  achievement.  For,  no  matter  how  good  a 
training  has  been  gone  through,  or  how  much  technical  means  has 
been  mastered,  none  of  this  seems  to  count  for  much  in  the  naked 
and  exposed  atmosphere  of  the  public  platform.  For  there  Mag- 
netism, Personality  and  Power  of  Concentration,  are  the  only 
sources  of  commimication  by  which  the  pianist  may  hope  to 
convince  his  hearers. 

And  in  order  to  stimulate  in  his  performances  these  three  great 
essentials,  it  is  imperative  for  him  to  throw  himself  so  completely 
into  his  work  while  on  the  platform  as  to  become  oblivious  of  his 
surroundings,  and  thus  be  transformed  into  a  complete  medium,  or 
vehicle  of  transmission,  between  the  composer's  ideas  and  the 
audience.  I  am  persuaded  that  at  certain  moments  during  a 
performance  the  magnetism  of  the  player  compelling  the  attention 
of  his  listeners,  creates  in  him  a  sort  of  state  of  hypnotism.  Hence 
I  have  often  noticed  the  fact,  that  any  sudden  outside  noise  in  the 
hall,  however  slight,  will  startle  the  performer  almost  out  of  his 
wits,  and  give  him  a  shock  quite  out  of  proportion  to  its  small  sig- 
nificance, and  this  because  his  mind  was  not  at  the  moment  quite 
sentient  of  its  actuality. 

A   SPECIAL  GIFT 

There  is  no  doubt  that  some  people  have  a  special  gift,  or  are 
temperamentally  predisposed  for  appearing  in  public ;  the  throbbing 
expectancy  of  the  crowd  around  them  acts  as  a  stimulus  to  the 
activity  of  their  brains  and  imagination.  To  the  student  who  has 
such  a  temperament  (and  most  of  those  who  succeed  in  becoming 
great  interpretative  artists  possess  it),  there  is  only  a  question  of 
time  and  experience  before  he  learns  to  feel  instinctively  the  vary- 
ing moods  of  his  audiences.  Once  having  acquired  this  sensitive- 
ness to  receive  impressions  from  his  public,  it  will  be  his  privilege 

98 


PLAYING  IN  PUBLIC  99 

,to  compel  them  to  follow  him  in  all  he  does,  and  thus  an  under- 
standing between  them  will  be  soon  perfectly  established.  And 
when  this  understanding  is  accomplished,  1  have  found  that  the 
performer  ceases  to  be  conscious  of  his  surroundings  any  more, 
because  all  adverse  elements  have  become  reconciled  and  he  can  lose 
himself  in  his  interpretation,  secure  that  the  mind  of  the  public  is 
with  him.  But  as  long  as  the  artist  is  conscious  of  their  presence 
through  unquietness  amongst  them,  coughs,  whispers  and  rest- 
lessness, etc.,  so  long  is  his  spell  not  woven.  Then  will  he  put  all 
the  resources  of  his  technical  equipment  into  play  to  endeavour 
to  produce  the  magnetic  current  from  himself  to  the  audience. 

Possibly  it  may  be  a  monotony  of  tone  which  prevents  him 
reaching  them ;  to  counteract  this  he  will  try  to  change  and  vary 
his  tone-colour  with  greater  subtlety,  or  he  may  feel  that  the  rhythm 
is  not  charged  with  life.  He  will  then  strive  to  put  more  pulsation 
into  it  in  order  to  focus  the  attention  of  the  public  and  to  give  a 
finer  relief  to  the  music  he  is  setting  before  them,  so  that  their 
minds  cannot  fail  to  apprehend  its  beauty.  For  though  many 
single  individuals  in  an  audience  may  know  nothing  and  care  little 
for  music,  yet  the  general  collective  mass  of  a  great  big  public  can 
be  galvanized  into  becoming  like  one  single  vibrating  nerve,  re- 
sponding instantaneously  to  every  variation  of  colour,  rhythm  and 
passion. 

"  ABSOLUTE    MUSICIANS  " 

Now  all  good  musicians  who  play  instruments  are  what  I  call 
absolute  musicians,  that  is  to  say,  they  depend  entirely  and  solely 
on  the  music  for  their  expression  of  thought.  They  are  independent 
of  all  gesture,  word  or  scenery,  and  their  appeal  is  a  direct  one  to 
the  emotions,  through  the  medium  of  combinations  of  sound, 
variously  presented.  Therefore  has  music  in  the  widest  sense 
no  bounds  of  nationality,  no  stumbling  blocks  of  race  or  language 
to  confine  it.  Its  api)cal  can  ])e  felt  as  well  in  Kamschatka  or  Terra 
del  Fuego  as  in  London  and  Paris. 

I  have  played  the  Beethoven  "Moonlight"  and  ".\ppa.sssionata" 
Sonatas  alike  to  gokl  miners  and  empire  bnilckMs  in  South  .\frica, 
to  cowboys  and  niiliinnnires  in  the  Western  States  of  America,  to 
ranchers  and  railway  magnates  in  Canada,  even  to  Maoris  in  New 
Zealand,  and  Chinamen  in  Vancouver,  and  found  they  all  listened 
and  were  interested  even  when  they  did  not  (|uite  understand.  And 
it  is  a  curious  fact  that  I  have  noted  the  finest  niasteri)ieces  of  music 
almost  always  produce  a  greater  itni)r(ssi()n  than  inferior  works  on 
audiences  which  are  more  or  less  uiufhu  atcd  musically. 


100  HOW  TO  PI.AY  THE  PIANO 

Another  strangle  thing  which  I  have  personally  experienced  is, 
that  sitinctimes  when  1  am  feeling  untit  physically,  at  the  crucial 
moment  1  will  very  likely  play  better  than  usual.  The  effort  is  a 
greater  one  for  me,  but  no  doubt  my  mind,  having  to  be  more 
alert  to  overcome  bodily  weakness,  acts  consequently  more  power- 
fully all  around.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  for  a  moment  by  this  that 
it  is  an  advantage  in  public  playing  to  be  in  a  weak  state  physically; 
that  would  obviously  be  an  absurdity.  In  fact,  there  is  of  course 
no  public  profession  where  good,  sound  bodily  health  and  strength 
are  not  necessary  essentials  to  success,  because  the  wear  and  tear 
of  excitement  are  so  continuous.  But  the  mind,  and  imagination 
and  temperament  controlled  by  the  mind,  must  always  be  the 
dominant  factors  of  every  sort  of  condition  and  remain  undisturbed 
by  unexpected  eventualities.  And  in  this  dominance  over  conditions 
lies  what  I  call  the  technique  of  the  platform,  and  comprises  also 
the  mastery  of  such  things  as  different  acoustical  properties  of  the 
place  the  pianist  is  called  upon  to  play  in.  This  may  often  prove 
a  difficult  problem  and  require  much  experience  to  negotiate  suc- 
cessfully, especially  if  the  artist  has  only  to  appear  for  a  short 
performance  and  that  in  a  building  where  he  has  not  played  before. 

But  by  long  experience  the  pianist  can  more  or  less  tell  after 
striking  a  few  preliminary  chords  the  kind  of  acoustical  difficulty 
which  he  will  have  to  contend  with.  If,  for  instance,  a  hall  has  too 
much  resonance  for  the  piano,  then  the  music  must  be  taken  at  a 
slower  tempo  and  with  more  emphasis  than  elsewhere.  In  places 
like  the  Albert  Hall,  in  London,  or  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  in  Man- 
chester, this  is  the  case.  It  is,  of  course,  a  good  deal  also  a  matter 
of  perspective  and  atmosphere.  For  it  is  quite  obvious  that  a 
fine  nuance  which  would  be  perfect  in  a  small  place  might  be  entirely 
lost  in  the  Albert  Hall ;  and  vice  versa,  the  emphasis  and  delibera- 
tion necessary  to  give  the  right  outline  to  a  big  declamatory  phrase 
in  the  Free  Trade  Hall  might  sound  rough  and  exaggerated  in  a 
building  of  lesser  dimensions.  Now  the  business  of  the  true  artist 
and  the  best  amateur  is  to  propagate  the  finest  art  wherever  they 
happen  to  be.  For  though  the  popular  tune  of  the  moment  may 
have  an  immediate  success,  it  will  not  last,  neither  can  it  make 
any  abiding  impression.  But  once  a  great  musical  work  has  struck 
the  imagination  of  even  the  most  superficial  mind,  it  will  leave 
an  unefifaceable  memory.  In  fact  it  is  quite  astonishing  how  manj 
people  there  are  who  though  otherwise  quite  unmusical,  yet  will 
always  go  to  hear  and  enjoyone  particular  great  work,  such  as  one 
certain  symphony,  or  opera,  or  sonata.  And  this,  just  because  the 
special  work  happened  once  to  make  some  unforgettable  impression 


PLAYING  IN  PUBLIC  101 

upon  them,  so  that  they  really  continue  to  enjoy  it  without  knowing 
anything  more  about  other  music  than  before. 

HOLDING  THE   PUBLIC 

To  return  once  more  to  the  kind  of  magnetic  spell  which  should 
bind  performer  and  audience  together,  I  wish  to  show  how  this 
power  of  holding  the  public,  as  it  is  sometimes  termed,  can  be 
turned  to  advantage  if  an  outside  emergency  arises,  such  as  may 
occur  occasionally  in  every  walk  of  life.  I  well  remember  in  this 
connection  when  I  was  giving  a  concert  once  in  St.  John's,  New 
Brunswick,  Canada,  that  there  being  no  available  concert  hall,  the 
performance  was  held  in  a  big  public  meeting-room  on  the  first 
floor  of  the  building.  The  only  entrance  to  the  room  was  by  one 
rather  narrow  wooden  staircase,  and  the  same  staircase  was  the 
only  way  out. 

The  room  was  crowded  so  that  there  was  no  space  to  pass  in  the 
hall  at  all,  and  people  were  everywhere,  even  crowding  on  the  plat- 
form. In  the  middle  of  my  first  piece  all  the  electric  light  went  out 
suddenly,  leaving  the  vast  crowd  plunged  in  the  blackest  darkness. 
They  began  to  get  up  and  grope  for  an  outlet  to  the  one  narrow 
stair,  which  in  the  congested  state  of  the  room  would  soon  have 
caused  a  panic  if  it  had  continued.  Luckily  I  was  so  absorbed  in 
what  I  was  playing  that  I  never  actually  noticed  that  the  lights  had 
disappeared  and  I  went  on  playing  quite  unconsciously  (I  think  it 
was  a  fugue  of  Bach).  And  when  the  audience  realized  the  music 
was  proceeding  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  insistent  and  command- 
ing as  is  ever  the  music  of  Bach,  they  subsided  into  their  seats  and 
did  not  attempt  to  move  again  till  an  attendant,  after  a  short  time, 
found  a  candle,  lit  it,  put  it  on  the  piano  and  eventually  succeeded 
in  extemporizing  enough  light  to  keep  things  going. 

Another  incident  of  the  same  kind  happened  to  me  once  in  Sydney 
Town  Hall,  in  Australia.  It  is  a  vast  place,  and  there  were  about 
five  thousand  people  in  it  that  night.  During  the  performance  a 
tropical  storm  broke  out  and  affected  the  electric  dynamo,  so  that 
there  also  all  the  light  went  out,  and  some  foolish  people  shouted 
"Fire!"  I  never  noticed  anything  this  time  either,  so  engrossed  was 
I  in  the  music  I  was  j)laying,  and  I  continued  as  if  nothing  had 
occurred.  Here  again  the  public  hearing  the  music  still  going  on 
regained  their  trancjuiliity,  supposing  that  there  could  not  be  very 
much  wrong  if  it  was  not  necessary  even  to  cease  playing,  and  they 
remained  listening  without  panic  till  light  was  procured. 

Becoming  .so  absorbed  in  the  music  has  been  a  peculiarity  of  mine 


102  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

since  earliest  chiUlhood,  and  when  only  a  little  boy  of  nine  it  nearly 
cost  nie  my  future  career,  and  incidentally  gained  me  a  very  fine  toy 
steam  entwine !  1  was  taken  by  my  father  to  play  before  one  of  the 
Russian  Grand  Dukes  who  was  interested  in  music.  I  was  to  play 
a  pianoforte  concerto  with  the  orchestra  which,  if  the  Grand  Duke 
was  satisfied  with  my  performance,  and  thoujj^ht  I  had  talent,  meant 
mv  remainiiii;  in  Moscow  to  study.  In  the  middle  of  the  concerto 
there  was  a  cadenza  for  the  piano  which  I  had  to  play  alone,  and 
then  at  a  given  point  the  orchestra  joined  in  again.  While  perform- 
ing this  cadenza  I  somehow  got  so  interested  in  the  musical  pro- 
gressions that  I  forgot  what  I  was  doing,  and  began  developing 
other  progressions  and  wandering  into  other  keys.  The  orchestra 
sat  aghast,  they  did  not  know  how  to  catch  me,  the  conductor  looked 
terribly  dismayed,  he  could  not  understand  what  I  was  at !  Suddenly 
I  came  to  myself,  found  I  was  miles  away  from  the  original  key, 
and  had  to  modulate  back  by  a  series  of  chords.  Without  stopping 
mv  playing  I  managed  to  get  into  the  right  music  again  and  gradu- 
ally arrived  at  the  point  where  the  orchestra  were  able  to  pick 
me  up. 

The  Grand  Duke,  who  was  musical,  laughed  when  the  perform- 
ance was  over ;  he  had  been  entertained  by  this  contretemps.  At  the 
same  time  he  was  so  pleased  that  I  had  been  able  to  extricate  myself 
from  the  imbroglio,  that  he  not  only  complimented  my  father  about 
me,  but  asked  me  what  I  should  like  him  to  give  me.  The  only 
thing  I  wanted  in  the  world  at  that  time  was  a  toy  steam-engine  and 
I  boldly  said  so,  to  the  amazement  of  all  present.  And  I  got  it  too. 
and  a  beauty  it  was !  I  fear  no  one  would  give  me  an  engine  now 
if  I  wandered  off  into  improvisation  in  the  middle  of  the  cadenza  of 
the  TchaikovsJcy  concerto  1 


Chapter  XIV 

EPILOGUE:    THE  PIANO  AS  A  HOUSEHOLD  FRIEND, 
AND  HOW  TO  CHOOSE  AND  CARE  FOR  ONE 

The  rapid  rise  of  the  piano  and  the  enormous  growth  in  its  popu- 
larity during  the  last  fifty  years  is  the  best  tribute  to  its  unparalleled 
powers  of  bringing  even  to  the  humblest  homes  a  little  of  the  divine 
spirit  of  music.  This  universality  of  the  instrument,  and  its  ad- 
vantage as  a  real  household  friend,  is  due  in  a  great  measure  to  its 
accessibility  to  everyone  in  the  elementary  stages  of  playing.  It  can 
yield  pleasant  effect  at  once  without  any  great  amount  of  labour, 
and  a  little  gentle  strumming  on  the  piano  gives  a  great  deal  of  joy  to 
many  who  never  meet  with  any  higher  form  of  music  in  their  lives. 
The  wideness  of  its  scope,  too,  in  the  combinations  of  sound, 
and  its  adaptability  to  serve  the  moods  of  every  sort  of  occasion,  go 
to  make  it  one  of  the  most  wonderful  developments  which  the  science 
of  men  has  evolved  for  the  nurturing  of  musical  life  amongst  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  people.  The  cracked  old  piano  of  a  village 
hall  rattling  out  polkas  and  waltzes  in  its  tin-kettle  voice,  but  pro- 
viding plenty  of  spirit  and  go  for  the  dance;  the  hymn  tunes  rever- 
ently fingered  out  on  the  much-treasured  instrument  in  the  remote 
country  homes ;  the  hospital  or  institution,  where  its  indispensable 
presence  helps  to  soothe  and  cheer,  or,  by  contrast,  any  place  of 
entertainment  where  it  enlivens  the  merrymakers;  this  adaptability 
of  the  piano  perhaps  tends  to  vulgarize  it  a  little,  yet  it  does  not 
prevent  its  being  a  truly  noble  vehicle  for  the  highest  art  of  expres- 
sion and  interpretation  in  great  masterpieces  of  music. 

THE   SPELL  OF  THE   PIANO 

The  piano  has  also,  I  think,  a  humanizing  and  softening  influence 
on  the  most  unexpected  people.  I  have  found  this  so  much  amongst 
my  travels,  even  hard  business  men,  pioneers,  backwoodsmen,  rough 
miners  from  out  West,  farmers  on  the  lonely  prairies,  sailors,  some- 
times the  stokers  from  the  ship's  hold,  people  of  all  races  and  all 
cokmrs  can  come  under  the  spell  of  the  piano. 

It  is  tf)ld  of  Fouf|ti('t.  the  splendifl  and  ill-fated  minister  of  Louis 
XIV,  that  when  speaking  of  music  with  one  of  the  Court  who  was 

103 


101  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

not  an  amateur,  he  exclaimed,  "How,  Monsieur,  you  care  not  for 
music,  you  do  not  play  the  clavecin,  I  am  sorry  for  you,  you  are 
indeed  condemninj:^  yourself  to  a  dull  old  age!" 

He  was  thinking  no  doubt  of  the  joy  which  all  can  experience, 
even  without  being  great  performers,  in  picking  out  favourite  tunes 
on  the  piano,  stumbling  over  the  themes  of  well-loved  masterpieces 
and  thereby  reviving  memories  of  enchanted  hours  passed  in  the 
concert  hall  or  opera  house. 

We  all  know  the  unutterable  satisfaction  which  even  the  most 
halting  travesty  of  the  real  thing  affords  to  the  imagination  of  the 
devotee,  and  how  much  intensity  and  enthusiasm  of  expression  make 
up  for  lack  of  execution  1 

What  an  inestimable  boon,  therefore,  is  the  piano  in  the  home ! 
A  friend,  a  companion,  a  comforter,  a  magician,  all  in  one!  Always 
ready  to  give  its  best,  always  sympathetic,  unchanging,  patient,  with- 
out rancour  for  the  outrages  it  sometimes  has  to  suffer,  at  all  times 
a  never-failing  resource. 

No  musical  instrument  has  ever  attained  such  universal  popu- 
larity as  the  piano,  because  it  is  so  easy  to  handle,  so  quick  to  give 
to  those  who  ask  from  it.  Therefore,  almost  everyone  desires  to 
have  a  piano  in  the  home,  and  indeed  something  does  seem  strangely 
lacking  if  there  is  not  one  to  be  found  anywhere  throughout  a  house. 

THE    RIGHT    CHOICE 

If,  therefore,  the  piano  means  so  much  to  so  many  people,  it 
surely  follows  that  to  know  how  to  choose  a  good  instrument  at  the 
outset  is  very  important.  Of  course,  pianos,  like  everything  else, 
are  largely  judged  and  selected  according  to  the  degree  of  reputation 
enjoyed  by  their  respective  makers,  and  the  person  who  has  no  spe- 
cial knowledge  of  what  is  a  good  or  bad  instrument  is  well  advised 
to  look  for  his  piano  at  a  first-class  firm,  who  can  show  him  examples 
by  all  the  best  producers.  At  any  rate,  he  is  safe  to  get  a  good 
article  from  them,  and  also  find  experts  to  pivise  him  about  the 
quality  of  the  instrument.  It  is  very  unwise  to  go  and  buy  a  piano 
by  any  maker  at  an  auction  room  unless  it  can  be  inspected  by  some- 
one who  possesses  professional  knowledge. 

But  it  is  not  everything  to  have  a  first-class  instrument ;  it  is  also 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  look  after  it  well.  I  cannot  bear  to  go 
into  a  room  and  see  a  fine  piano  covered  over  with  family  photo- 
graphs, and  vases  full  of  flowers,  as  one  often  does.  The  housemaid 
is  sure  to  upset  one  of  the  vases,  and  the  water  trickling  down 
through  the  hinges  of  the  lid  ruins  the  action ;  while  the   family 


EPILOGUE:  THE  PIANO  AS  A  HOUSEHOLD  FRIEND  105 

portraits  dance  and  jingle  merrily  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  Bee- 
thoven Sonata  or  the  exquisite  Chopin  study,  and  generally  end  by 
tumbling  down  with  a  bang,  scratching  all  the  polish  off  the  top, 
and  causing  terrible  trepidation  to  their  owner,  not  to  speak  of  the 
poor  performer.    I  speak  wath  feeling,  from  grim  experience! 

ITS  WORST  ENEMY 

Most  people  know^  that  a  piano  should  not  be  kept  in  a  draught, 
neither  just  under  the  w'indow,  nor  between  the  door  and  the 
window,  A  long  time  of  standing  in  such  a  position  will  spoil  the 
best  instrument,  and  if  it  is  kept  for  many  months  in  an  unoccupied 
room  it  will  deteriorate  badly  unless  a  fire  is  lit  to  dry  the  atmos- 
phere from  time  to  time.  Damp  is  the  worst  enemy  the  piano  can 
have.  It  is  wise,  too,  if  you  wish  to  preserve  your  piano  to  the 
best  advantage,  to  have  it  constantly  tuned  and  examined  by  a  first- 
class  tuner.  It  is  very  much  more  difficult  to  repair  satisfactorily  a 
piano  that  has  been  systematically  neglected  (it  can  scarcely  ever 
regain  its  original  excellence)  than  to  look  after  it  carefully  from 
the  beginning,  when  it  will  last  for  years. 

Size  is  an  urgent  point  to  be  considered  in  the  selection  of  a 
piano.  An  enormous  and  powerful  Concert  Grand  is  obviously 
unsuitable  for  a  small  and  private  drawing-room,  and  there  is  nothing 
better  for  a  moderate-sized  room  than  a  Boudoir  or  Baby  Grand. 
A  good  Upright  is  also  by  no  means  to  be  despised,  for  these  are 
excellent  instruments  provided  they  have  plenty  of  resonance,  and 
are  not  too  stiff  in  action. 

MECHANICAL  PLAYERS 

One  can  scarcely  discuss  nowadays  the  merits  of  pianos  in  our 
homes  without  mentioning  in  connection  with  them  the  latest  de- 
velopment of  modern  musical  invention,  the  mechanical  piano- 
players.  Some  musicians  affect  contempt  for  the  mechanical  piano- 
players  and  ridicule  their  value,  but  I  do  not  agree  with  this  view, 
for,  though,  no  doubt,  they  cannot  be  said  to  contribute  to  the 
highest  realms  of  musical  expression,  still  I  think  they  possess  a 
very  real  value  in  that  they  educate  the  public  taste,  and  enable 
people  who  would  otherwise  have  no  inclination  or  impulse  to  hear 
good  music  to  become  familiar  with  it.  Therefore,  let  us  not  dis- 
parage the  mechanical  piano-players,  even  though  they  are  trying 
neighbours  in  the  next  house  when  one  is  working  or  sleeping. 

Of  course,  it  is  not  quite  the  same  thing,  choosing  a  piano  for 


106  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

one's  private  use,  or  sclectiii};  the  Concert  Grand  from  a  professional 
point  of  view  for  a  performance  in  a  bisj^  hall.  l'\)r  instance,  when  1 
give  a  recital  my  piano  is  selectctl  by  me  and  my  piano-maker  some 
weeks  before  the  concert  from  several  special  ones  which  I  am  in 
the  habit  of  playing.  It  is  tested  as  to  its  power  of  tone  and 
resonance  with  reference  to  the  acoustical  properties  of  the  hall.  It 
is  tuned,  the  action  regulated,  the  pedals  adjusted — in  fact,  it  is 
prepared  and  brought  into  perfect  condition,  like  a  well-trained  race- 
horse before  it  starts  its  race,  so  that  it  may  be  equal  to  all  the 
demands  imposed  upon  it. 

If  I  were  going  to  buy  a  piano  for  my  own  house,  what  should 
I  look  for?  I  should  first  of  all  search  for  one  with  a  good  even 
tone  throughout,  as  well  in  the  treble  and  bass  registers  as  in  the 
middle.  Next,  I  should  try  the  action  by  ascertaining  if  the  keys 
repeat  perfectly  and  whether  the  touch  is  easy  and  pliable  under  the 
fingers,  and  also  whether  the  pedals  act  promptly. 

But.  as  I  have  said  before,  it  takes  real  knowledge  to  judge  of 
such  things  oneself.  If  one  has  not  had  the  opportunity  of  ex- 
perience, the  next  best  thing  is  to  go  to  a  first-class  firm  where  only 
first-class  instruments  are  kept  and  are  looked  after  by  experts. 

And  now,  as  a  fitting  finale,  let  me  once  more  myself  eulogize 
my  beloved  instrument  and  let  me  emphasize  again  what  a  wonderful 
work  of  human  ingenuity  it  is.  Who  can  but  marvel  when  he  hears 
the  variety  of  its  effects,  the  power  and  wealth  of  sound  it  possesses, 
its  wonderful  mechanical  soul,  the  pedal,  how  it  is  able  to  produce 
such  great  emotions,  tears,  laughter,  excitement,  enthusiasm.  It 
can  give  at  the  same  time  complete  satisfaction  to  those  of  its  un- 
ambitious devotees  who  seek  only  to  pass  away  a  few  pleasant 
moments  in  evoking  charming  sounds  and  yet  prove  its  stimulation 
as  an  instrument  of  superhuman  difficulty  and  interest  to  those  who 
desire  to  master  it,  and  make  it  disclose  all  the  richness  and  extent 
of  its  possibilities.  And  for  such  as  are  not  easily  tired  or  dis- 
couraged, the  piano  can  be  a  glorious  friend  and  companion,  only 
they  must  have  the  w^ill  and  perseverance,  and  above  all  talent  and 
temperament,  to  inspire  the  instrument  with  life  and  master  its 
secrets. 


PART  TWO 
THE    DAILY   PIANIST 

BEING    EXTRACTS    FROM    FIVE-FINGER    EXERCISES,    SCALES, 
ARPEGGI   THIRDS,   OCTAVES   AS   PRACTISED    BY 
MARK  HAMBOURG 


'■< 


Chapter  XV 

FIVE-FINGER  EXERCISES,   SCALES  AND  ARPEGGIO 

EXERCISES 


I  STRONGLY  advisc  the  student,  as  he  advances,  to  play  through  some 
of  the  Exercises  every  day,  increasing  the  Tempo  gradually  but 
never  playing  them  too  rapidly,  and  paying  careful  attention  to  the 
articulation  of  the  fingers.  It  is  also  advisable  to  play  the  scales 
and  Arpeggio  Exercises  straight  through  without  a  break  in  each 
key. 

All  the  Exercises  given  here  should  always  be  played  by  each 
hand  separately. 

The  following  Exercises  can  be  played  either  Forte  or  Piano, 
and  may  be  repeated  three  or  four  times,  but  without  fatiguing  the 
hand. 

Each  bar  to  be  repeated  four  times. 

The  semibreves  to  be  kept  pressed  down,  and  the  crotchets  to  be 
played  with  the  fingers  marked  under  them,  while  counting  aloud 
and  lifting  the  different  fingers  about  an  inch  from  the  keyboard. 


1.     Right  hand. 


5 


i 


^^^Vrrr'^^Wi^'^^-^-^-^-'-^^-^-^-^-'^^ 


5 

4- 


5 

4- 


i 


i 


ir 


MUA'''^^jjj:^'^JAC^un    ^ 


The  same  exercise  for  the  left  hand  to  be  played  the  same  way. 


2.     Left  hand. 

/    /    /    / 


^=fe4^^=f^ 


2    Z    2     2 


3    3   3    3 


'V   4.   4   4- 


S    5    g     3 


4  4.    4     4 


>    3    3    3 


g     2     ?    2 


^)  f  rrrpr-^rrrrl-ferrrri     sj 


i 


109 


no 


HOW  TO  PI.AV  TFIE  PIANO 


SCALE   AND    ARPEGGIO   EXERCISES 

These  scales  should  be  practised  every  day  with  the  accompany- 
ing arpeggio  exercises  in  four  different  keys.  Thus  every  scale  and 
arpeggio  in  all  the  tonalities  will  be  gone  through  twice  during  the 
week. 

Thus :  First  day— C,  D  flat,  D,  E  flat. 
Second  day — E,  F,  F  sharp,  G. 
Third  day— A  flat,  A,  B  flat,  B. 
Fourth  day — Begin  again  on  C,  etc.,  etc. 

Scales  to  be  practised  as  below  every  day  slowly  with  each  hand 
separately,  care  being  paid  to  the  passage  of  the  thumb  and  to  the 
flexibility  of  the  wrist. 


Scales  in  C  and  Arpeggi.     Right  hand. 


^^ 


m 


y^^ 


SCALES  AND  ARPEGGIO  EXERCISES 


111 


Scales  in  C  and  Arpeggi.     Left  hand. 


^W..^..'^- 


112 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


Scales  in  D  flat  and  Arpcggi.     Right  hand. 


-ikL.. 


SCALES  AND  ARPEGGIO  EXERCISES 
Scales  in  D  flat  and  Arpeggi.     Left  hand. 


U3 


And  so  on  throughout  the  different  keys. 


114 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

The  fingering  given  in  the  C  major  example  is  similar  in  the 
keys  of  D.  !•:.  V,  G,  A,  and  B.  For  the  E  flat  and  B  Hat  scales  the 
fingering  is  the  same  as  that  given  below. 


Scales  in  B  flat  and  Arpeggi.    Right  hand. 


SCALES  AND  ARPEGGIO  EXERCISES 


115 


Scales  in  B  flat  and  Arpeggi.     Left  hand 

2  / 


<^'j^^"'^^ 


( 2 1 

f4    .v^^^>/ 


»  t>*r  w  * — i- 


:;»5-  ■* — t'^^ — w  •  * irr 


Sw 


TiP^^r-Tr 


^^ 


116  HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 

The  fingering  for  the  F  sharp  scale  is  as  follows : 

Scales  in  F  sharp  and  Arpeggi.     Right  hand. 


&t 


I  J,    4. 


^ 


^m 


W 


w 


g#^^k±:a^^ 


WW 


^^m 


4- 

-f — r 


SCALES  AND  ARPEGGIO  EXERCISES 


117 


Scales  in  F  sharp  and  Arpeggi.     Left  hand. 


^ 


P 


^^ 


^^^^^^^^m 

i^^^^^# 


Chapter  XVI 
SCALES  IN  THIRDS  AND  OCTAVE  EXERCISES 


SCALES  IN   THIRDS  WITH   FINGERINGS   MARKED 


I.     Right  hand. 


4    3*    3l    34. 


i  a.  s  }  i  ' 


^^^ 


-^gr 


These  fingerings  can  be  used  in  all  tonalities. 


II.     Left  hand. 


£t£± 


CHROMATIC    THIRDS 
III.     Right  hand.     Minor  thirds. 


IV.     Left  hand.     Minor  thirds. 


-f^rri  rrn 


•    I         ^ 

^m 

_J I i 


135454'  «3*si. 


V.     Right  hand.     Major  thirds 


VI.     Left  hand.     Major  thirds. 


Il8 


SCALES  IN  THIRDS  AND  OCTAVE  EXERCISES 


119 


OCTAVE  EXERCISES 


To  be  practised  slowly  and  very  staccato,  wrist  very  loose. 


# fi 


pm 


m 


32: 


120 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


II. 


^m^ 


m 


mm 


^flw 


mtfW^m 


L.  I       I      I        =f 


_« — «. 


J 


^ 


^^_ 


iz:: 


I 


m 


f 


^ 


P 


:SP~Tr 


»— :^ 


i 


^ 


s 


:#: 


:Z2; 


SCALES  IN  THIRDS  AND  OCTAVE  EXERCISES         121 


OCTAVE   JUMPS 


I. 


\^\  J  J  J  ]  ^ 


II. 


123 


HOW  TO  PLAY  THE  PIANO 


REPEATING    OCTAVES 


^^JJlJlTJib^ 


m 


imtf"' 


r  rr rr 


4 • « — <| — < 


1=3=1  =3=3  =3- 


i 


i 


-^ — ^ — 1^ 


i^ 


i  [t  •_* 


f 


s 


m 


1Z3 


i^ 


i 


4 — • 


33: 


:?=?: 


fiu  lUi 


CHORD  EXERCISES 


J5       555s       S555 
5    2    2       2     3 


university  o   CaMom^^  ^^^ 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY^  ^^^3^3 

,05%  Neve  Dnve^  ^^CfORnU  90095-1388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CAUt-  . -^  ^35  borroNwed, 

^eturnthi^i-^ 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  634  833    8 


Univers 

Souti 

Libr 


